Divergent Path: Ambush Reloaded
by swordcane
Summary: An alternate reality created by the shifting of one team for a mission. A "what if?" scenario involving Team Gai at the Bridge between Heaven and Earth.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Naruto obviously isn't mine. But they say immitation is the highest form of flattery.

Kabuto let the breeze billow over him. The sun was high and the weather clear, one would say the day was almost cheerful. But one would be wrong. That breeze… That breeze was ominous. Had it been a still day it would have been a pleasant temperature, the medic-nin might have even considered removing his cloak, but the wind would almost certainly raise gooseflesh the way it was blowing. _An autumn day in a spring setting, like a poor man in a lord's dress, it just doesn't look right._ Yet it seemed fitting for this occasion. Kabuto would have smiled if he had a fraction less self-control. You never knew who was watching, and for that matter, from what angle. It was not outside the realm of possibility that the Sasori had employed some form of scouting nin, summons, or jutsu to place him under the keenest observation while he stood (theoretically) alone, hooded, and facing out from the center of the bridge. The traitor's sharp mind had been honed since childhood on how to hide the deepest secrets, intentions, emotions- and to be on guard from those who might try to tease them out from as much as an eye twitch or an upturned lip. Perhaps that was the cause of his erratic behavior over the years: maybe he had hid his true intentions and goals so well, secluding and securing them away from those who might discern them, that Kabuto himself could no longer decipher his own motivations. It was also possible that he had simply gone insane from the wars, pressures, and the monsters which had so suddenly surrounded him at an incredibly young impressionable age. That, in fact, was most likely the case- but it never hurt to be romantic about things. The wind continued to blow, ignoring his presence as he seemingly ignored it.

_Sasori won't be long, he doesn't like to keep people waiting._ The medic-nin knew this as surely as he knew he had thirty-two kunai in his hip pouch, seventeen shurikin in his leg holster, and that there were, on average, 208 bones in the adult (un-mutated) human body. Sasori's impatient personality was just another part of unchangeable reality. Funny then, that the Akatsuki artist would have a sense of beauty based on the concept of the eternal. One would have guessed that he simply would not have the patience for the delicate and time consuming art of puppet construction, yet Sasori never seemed to stop being at odds with his own personal nature. Never quite one thing, and never quite the other. Again, Kabuto had to restrain a smile from passing his lips. _Even the employment of brainwashed spies is a contradiction, isn't it Master Sasori?_ whispered Kabuto's malicious mind. _A puppet without strings, that's what you tried to make out of me._

The urge to adjust his already perfectly balanced glasses burned like an itch he knew he mustn't scratch. Waiting could indeed annoy a person to no end- especially when one had a mind as thoughtful and winding as Kabuto's. He yearned for the arrival of the Aktuski so he could begin to play his part. It was when he was interacting with his environment that Kabuto felt truly comfortable. To be sure, this didn't mean he always had to be in motion, far from it. Kabuto extracted far more pleasure from carefully coordinated action. A well placed sentence here, a scalpel slice there, his forte was always in weaving the details; interacting with the unpredictable to create a controlled situation and generate useful information for further study and use. Merely waiting around and quietly observing had always been his least favorite way of data collecting. _Take that Uchia brat for example…_ his brain began to whisper.

The barest hint of bells in the air interrupted him in mid-thought. The sound had been heavily muffled by the wind that would not cease its blowing, yet he was sure he had heard it distinctly. Kabuto had never been very good at detecting chakra signatures, it was only when he was in close proximity and the target had prepped or released a considerable amount of the primal energy that he was readily able to recognize its presence. Never-the-less, the medic-nin prided himself on his sharp senses and his ability to remain perfectly attuned to his surroundings (the glasses he had always worn corrected his slight case of far-sightedness and only helped further his air of harmlessness). Yes, there definitely was a presence approaching from the south side, slowly shuffling across the ground, almost as though it was dragging or rolling itself with some bizarre new form of locomotion. Kabuto still did not shift his gaze from the east as he looked off into the horizon above the gaping chasm. The Land of Grass was actually quite pretty if you stayed away from its more hazardous environments. _Remain calm, but hint at your worry. Fear of discovering under the control of iron discipline. Don't look up yet, you are a confident, powerful individual and so you don't need to look for confirmation that it's your master._ Coaching at the very beginning seemed to always be necessary. Once he started moving and speaking, everything, all his lies and half-truths would flow like water out of his false demeanor. He would still be the same person, but with a new detached agenda and motivation. Kabuto was good at his job. _Wait for him to get close. That's it, you trust your superior… WAIT! Something's-_

Kabuto spun to his right the second he heard the bang from the approaching puppeteer. Judging from the initial scraping sound the presence had only reached the edge of the bridge. Kabuto's retina registered two images as his reflexes took over and he drove himself skyward with a chakra burst: First, a terrible imitation of Sassori's puppet Hiruko lying in pieces at the edge of the bridge, and second, a green streak emerging from that point and speeding down on him like a lightening bolt. _Fast!_ was the first rational thought that leapt through Kabuto's reeling mind as it attempted to make sense of the situation. He was airborne, high above the bridge now, his mind desperately trying to catch up. The green thunderbolt, _no, ninja,_ Kabuto corrected inwardly had covered a distance of 75 meters in less than a second, _far less than a second,_ Kabuto realized. _Its an imposter!_ _Ambush!stop looking down and check-_ Kabuto's eyes snapped up from the bridge and his search for the now elusive green blur. Perfectly parallel to him, perhaps 100 meters distant a figure clad in white and green had struck a hangman's pose, a long sheet of scroll draped gracefully over one extended arm, and sunlight glinting off what must have been a forehead protector. _They've thrown something! _Kabuto realized with instant horror.

Again his reflexes and instincts saved him, twisting his honed body to the right in mid air, feeling the whoosh of kunai slice by his chest as he turned his center into his profile. The blades had missed by millimeters. He had reached the max height of the jump now, descent would begin in less than a second. His left hand went back to his hip pouch, seeking a kunai of his own- the incident was less than two seconds in yet time seemed to be crawling by. He had to take the offensive now if he hoped to steal the fight's momentum. No such luck. Kabuto wasn't sure where the young face came from that he was suddenly staring at. One moment there had been clear horizon, the next a visage not more than seven inches from his own. Few details realized, black bowl haircut, giant eyebrows, serious eyes, grim set lips. _Ugly._ was the thought that shot through the medic-nin's mind. Kabuto struck like a coiled serpent, the kunai swinging round in a blur and toward the approximate location that he assessed the aggressor's heart should be at in relation to its theoretical anatomy (based on the current location of the target's cranium).

_grab!snap!_ "Gehh!" Kabuto let out a short yelp of pain as he felt the ulna and radius in his left arm fracture and jam up into the tissue of his brachioradialis muscles far below his elbow. The medic-nin stole a glance down at his fractured arm as his right came round, glowing blue with the chakra scalpel he had been holding in reserve for the surprise attack on Sasori (which seemed to Kabuto now to be less and less likely). The ugly young boy had caught his left wrist with one hand, holding it in place an inch away from its intended target of the primary cardiac muscle and locked Kabuto's elbow straight out. At the same time he had brought a green clad knee up into the forearm and shattered the bones with incredible force. The medic-nin's chakra blade came in at a slicing arc, aiming to split across the bland face's eyes and nose. The bushy browed assailant didn't see the attack coming until it was almost too late, eyes widening in realization as his peripheral vision registered the neon blue flame aimed to divide his cornea. A sudden push and release off Kabuto's arm saved the young ninja's eyes, catapulting the green clad figure one meter back: Kabuto's fingertips just sliced into his epidermis above his nose.

Arm still livid with chakra, Kabuto brought his attacking hand down on his broken left- altering the flow with pinpoint control to begin to fuse the bones back together. He had already begun channeling chakra into the damaged areas with his elite technique the moment the pain had started, but with a direct medical jutsu he would be able to accelerate the process. Kabuto's eyes stared fixedly through the lenses of his glasses at the ninja who had inflicted such swift harm to him. _Rock Lee you son of a bitch._

Rock Lee, the good for nothing genin from his seventh chunnin exam trial who had no ninjitsu skill whatsoever! Rock Lee, the taijutsu specialist who had just broken his arm and now leered at him; eyes full of pride and excitement, ready to continue the battle once he gained more leverage. The blood was boiling in his veins, the ambush had only begun approximately 3 seconds ago and he already had to heal significant damage- dealt by a chunnin no less!

He was descending now, falling back toward the bridge. His arm would be in working condition when he landed and from there he would have to act quickly, if Rock Lee was in front of him, that meant that the adorable Tenten was the one who had nearly skewered him a few moments before. That just left- all of Kabuto's hair went on end then. In front of him, Rock Lee was still leering, _but not at me_, realized Kabuto. _He's looking behind me_. A sharp and powerful presence suddenly made itself felt, setting off every survival instinct in Kabuto's body. A quick jerk of his head and eyes was all Kabuto could manage as the assault began on his chakra network. He caught only a glimpse of the pale specter behind him. A light complexion, a glint of headband, black hair. And white eyes. There was no reflection in the Byakugan's pupiless stare, but he was sure that if there had been they would have shown him his own stunned reflection. _Two-four-eight-twelve-eighteen-. _The strikes rained in so fast that he could barely tell them apart, landing in his shoulders, spine, and kidneys. Along the chakra points themselves he felt nothing, just numbness. But in the organs and nervous systems he certainly felt something. Delirious, sharp, pain. The simple plans that Kabuto had formulated had been to land, roll backward, release a flurry of weapons, locate the next immediate threat, and hold it off with medical taijutsu until Orochimaru got over his surprise and amusement and stepped in. Now he would be lucky if he could just land without breaking anything else. He still had decent control of his legs but the gentle fist attack had already dealt serious damage to his internal organs. The blows to his spinal column were especially annoying, playing havoc with his motor system and reflex control. _Not unlike that attack from Tsunade three years ago._ No, things had gone especially bad very quickly. When his feet touched the bridge, his knees also seemed to see no reason not to either. With a crash, he found himself buckling onto all fours to absorb more of the landing. He was vaguely aware that Rock Lee had not joined them down below, the push from the arm having him land on the suspension wire three meters above the deck. He was also vaguely aware that Hyugga Neji had landed gracefully on the handrail directly behind him. Kabuto sluggishly pushed off his hands into a kneeling position. _Not much time, quick bef-_

"Leaf Hurricane!" the voice was pure, deep, and over the top, the kick was like being struck across the face with an I-beam. Kabuto felt his jaw dislocate, felt his body corkscrew and lift off the bridge, traveling face first toward the rail that the Hyugga was perched so angelically on. Kabuto thought he saw his glasses fly away in the top right corner of his vision and idly wondered where they were going. Far more pressing however was the hand rail that was speeding toward his face at an incredible rate. A part of Kabuto questioned how the bridge could be moving toward him; the other part greatly wished he hadn't left his forehead protector behind at the base. The ambush had been completed in ten seconds. Kabuto Yakushi was suddenly both unconscious and a prisoner of the Leaf.


	2. Chapter 2

_Konoha, 6 days earlier…_

The Gondaime Hokage was used to things not going her way (being a perpetual gambler and notorious loser had already prepped her for a life of hardship), but this was beyond the pale. Being browbeaten by Konoha elders and betrayed by her most trusted attendant in the space of four minutes was enough to turn the hot-tempered Tsunade into a multi-murderer. The idea that the aged counselors (and former teammates of the Third Lord) could move in and tell her, _the Hokage_, how to determine missions and assign teams was enough to make the princess of the Hidden Leaf test just how capable the elders Homura and Koharu were at defending their high titles. Wrinkled with sharp eyes, a cooler head might have seen the wisdom of the ages present in their appearance; wisdom that could only have been instilled by the experience of youth (also, historically speaking, survival rate for a ninja was not exceptionally high-for one to attain this age was something of a feat most recognized was not do to luck alone). What Tsunade saw however was arrogance instilled by a sense of entitlement. _How dare they?!_ she had fumed inwardly as her foot slammed down with the force of rage mixed with just a hint of challenge. "Your not the only one making concessions!" she had retorted to the stupid old man who had suggested that she didn't have one damn clue as to what she was talking about. She had wanted to send Sakura and Naruto out on this mission. She _knew_ that their dedication and hope in Sasuke would lead to his retrieval. The mission statement was actually quite simple and straight forward: Capture the Akustki spy within Orochimaru's organization and interrogate him for further information on the current strength and arrangement of the rogue Sannin's forces as well as discover his future plans. Sasuke's name was nowhere in it. However, a great deal was left unspoken from just those simple orders.

The Uchia. The recovery of that individual might mean more to the security of Konoha and the Land of Fire than a host of S-rank missions put together. To be lectured by the elders about the dangers of placing Naruto on missions, and then- to discover that Danzo (_that ancient bastard! Some people would just not die!)_ was also pulling strings to place his own men on the team… No, things could not stand as they were.

Tsunade had not thought long about what she was about to do. Perhaps she was being too drastic. Or perhaps she was playing it safe, ignoring that gambling instinct that said to bet everything on Naruto's team. But that other part of her… Danzo and the elders had played her too well in the meeting, steering her around like a novice genin in a jonin genjitsu. She didn't have to be a mind reader to know that the old cohorts were planning something for their own ends. What those ends were, Tsunade had only the vaguest of inklings, yet they were enough to give her pause. Naruto was as close to a sure bet she had ever come across- so her final decision continued to gnaw at the gondaime hokage. Things very simply could not go forward as originally planned. She sighed. Explaining the situation to the replacement team leader had been tiresome (perhaps the Nara chunnin's lackadaisical attitude was wearing off on her) and his eventual response was almost sure to be annoying (if past history was anything to go by).

"And that's the situation, I'm going to have to ask you to act as a temporary replacement for Team Kakashi." _That'll sure get a huge response, _the hokage contemplated glumly. The reaction from Might Gai, one of the most elite shinobi in the village (and completely one-sided arch rival to the Leaf's copy-nin) was actually quite surprising. A sharp guttural gasp, a mix of surprise and elation, a brief fire in his eyes shaded by massive caterpillar eyebrows, and then a pondering question accentuated by honest concern: "Are you sure Lady Hokage that a team with Uzumaki and the Haruno girl would not be more appropriate? All things considered about this mission…" Gai left the Uchia matter hanging in the air.

Tsunade grunted and leaned back in her chair, "Honestly Gai, I thought you would be more enthused- you replacing your number one rival's team as the main effort." Her reply had been soft and amused. Now her voice hardened and she leaned forward again. "Gai, I'm in a serious bind here with the elders. I can't, or rather shouldn't conduct clandestine action behind the council's back,"(_even if that is what they seem to be doing to me _she thought inwardly). "This operation needs to go flawlessly, and if an unstable element is introduced such as a former agent of Root, who- God forbid- is operating under some other directive…" now it was the Hokage who left words unspoken. Everyone knew the recovery of Sasuke was of paramount importance to the village, yet they had little actual hope of recovery without hard information on the current state of Orochimaru's Sound organization. Assuming of course this still wasn't an Akatsuki trap.

Tsunade closed her eyes playing with another possibility in her mind . In all honesty, perhaps this was what the elders actually wanted. After all, Naruto's isolation from missions had been the initial complaint. Perhaps bringing in Danzo was their way of making her doubt team Kakashi's reliability after all. And if she doubted the team's reliability she would hold the team back, and if she did that she would keep Naruto and his biiju out of reach of Akatsuki and then she was just playing back into their hands-_No!_ Her eyes snapped open, startling Gai. _I will not second guess myself any longer. Something else is in the works and Danzo wants to be close to the action for some reason. Best to keep his men at arms length from it._ "Lady Hokage?" Might Gai hesitantly questioned. "Might Guy," the Hokage commanded, "you are to gather your platoon and move with all haste to the Bridge between Heaven and Earth in the Land of Grass. There, you will intercept and capture the spy the Akatsuki organization has planted within the Sound Country and return him to the village as quickly as possible for interrogation! Any questions?"

Might Gai's response was pure instinct, a radiation of confidence that bordered on obscenity. A glint of pearly white teeth, a thumb jammed up and out into the air, and a Cheshire grin. "My lady, my team will be in position in half the travel time, and return the target in one third of that time!" _Gai,_ Tsunade silently thought, _sometimes you really are too much._ It was quite reassuring. "Oh Gai, there is one other thing," began Tsunade…

_Bridge between Heaven and Earth-ten seconds after Konoha ambush_

"Lee-" Gai didn't even need to finish his sentence. As Kabuto's head smacked off the railing the young nin had already positioned himself for the rebound, catching the Leaf-traitor's inert form before it even had time to begin falling vertically. _Good, _thought Guy, _we may just pull this off yet._ He saw the gleam of youth and pride in Lee's eyes then, the need to prove himself. He also noticed to the caged energy of his most advanced pupil. Neji, calm, but clearly on edge, his Byakugan making him acutely aware of the danger they were now in, yet supremely poised to make use of every skill he possessed. Gai gave the order, "Konoha, fall back! Tenten, move out!" The three shinobi, sprang away back toward the south, becoming blurs. There prisoner firmly in their possession. Several hundred meters back, the serpent watched and chuckled.

Orochimaru slowly made his way down the slope. His stride was paradoxical; it was lackadaisical yet full of purpose. His eyes burned with a madness that suggested great rage- but stopped at the suggestion. He had quite enjoyed watching the fight. He never tired of the chaos of utter surprise. _So hard to be bored when you can find so many things entertaining,_ he snickered inwardly_._ In truth it was only when nothing was going on that he was truly bored. When there was no chaos, no sacrifice, no real work being done, that was when he just couldn't stand it. Things didn't even need to really go according to his plan- assuming of course that it didn't affect the outcome of his plans. A little scenery beyond your control on the road of eternal life was always appreciated, especially when he had a chance to interact with it and mold it into his image. _Oh Kabuto, _the snake jokingly patronized, _taken down by __**those**__ ninja? So quickly?_ It was safe to consider Might Gai and his little band of chortles were the biggest joke there was in the shinobi world. Loud, over-the-top, next to no talent in ninjitsu? Assassination and stealth were definitely not their forte. _And yet_, Orochimaru began to snicker aloud. Then he began to laugh. He was now walking across the center of the bridge, his tan cammono flapping in the breeze. His eye caught the spot where Kabuto's head had connected with the railing, marked in spattered blood. And Orochimaru lost it. He cackled as he hadn't since he revealed to the Third Lord that he had perfected the immortality jutsu.

_This is just too much,_ Orochimaru thought when he regained the ability for coherent thought. Wiping a few tears from his twisted eyes, the Sannin looked south. _Guy?_ He supposed in retrospect it made some sense. If Konoha had somehow learned of the meeting and incapacitated Sasori, then it was likely they wanted to capture the spy to extract information. _Had Tsunade learned it was to be Kabuto?_ The snake lord's mood turned foul thinking about his former teammate. If that was the case she might have calculated that an ambush from ninja who completely dwarfed the medic-nin's ability in one area was what the doctor prescribed. Orochimaru sneered at his own joke. They shouldn't have been caught off guard like this, _Kabuto shouldn't have been caught off guard by this. _Now he would have to pick up the pieces, assuming that Kabuto didn't pull off a recovery before he arrived. _That would be disappointing;_ he was looking forward to toying with these Leaf nin before crushing them like insects. He was at the southern edge of the bridge when it exploded.

_What!?_ The serpent's eyes weren't sure what they were witnessing, nor his body quite what he was experiencing. Kunai knives, _hundreds of them,_ were ripping through his host's body, along with the splinters of the shattering bridge which even now was collapsing. The Bridge between Heaven and Earth was far from a shoddy piece of construction. Made of solid oak boards and reinforced with metal supports and suspension lines, it would take tremendous force just to blast a few of the planks apart. Yet if someone had been able to detect the subtle flaws and stresses in the bridge, for instance_ with a doujutsu,_ explosive weaponry set at key points could inflict critical damage to the superstructure- which it seemed, was now exactly what was occurring. As the section of bridge Orochimaru was standing on gave way under his feet, one thought struck the Sannin. It remained with him as he instinctively vomited a new form forth from the mouth out of his pin cushioned replacement skin. It was foremost on his mind as he shot like an arrow across the other side of the ravine in hot pursuit. He was going to enjoy ripping these shinobi apart. _Oh yes, this will be fun._

Team Gai was too far away to hear the explosion, but Neji figured that if Orochimaru had not disarmed them in some way (which was not outside the realm of possibility for a ninja talented enough to earn the title Sannin) Tenten's explosive kunai bombs had detonated. The Hyuga was positive he had set them correctly, tearing the tags the appropriate length to burn for 30 minutes, just enough time to set up and complete the ambush and ensure proper getaway. His and Gai's plan had been flawless, _up to this point,_ he reminded himself cautiously. He knew, far better than the rest in fact, just what might be following quickly on their heels. In fact, if the plan were still being followed they should be stopping right about…

Might Gai's hand went up, and Tenten immediately bounded to a branch some 30 feet ahead and above the group, Lee halted expertly, bracing his feet in mid leap, chakra flow in his feet quickly reversing in order to hold himself firmly on branch instead of catapulting him onward. Neji also altered his spring, landing on his next branch and somersaulting backward to the limb nine meters behind, eyes forward, yet looking back. 360 vision was near impossible for a normal human to imagine. The ability to not just look behind, but to see in all directions at once _and_ process the information was a feat few could hope to master even if they gained the ability. What's more, with the Byakugan's penetrating and telescopic power added still even more data to the already overwhelming sphere of knowledge one was deluged with. Processing this incredible amount of information from all sides in the literal blink of an eye was, again, no easy feat even for one born with the ability. Hyugga were not just masters of meditation merely because they were an over pampered, elite clan with more time on their hands then they knew what to do with. To utilize the blood line limit to its full potential, one needed to perfect the art of inner tranquility, to focus on everything and nothing all at once. And Neji Hyugga, member of the cadet branch, was the best. At the moment they halted Neji was acutely aware of Tenten's exact position, the exact angle of her gaze, and the entire range of her field of fire. He knew that Gai sensei was presently binding Kabuto's hands and feet with a great length of chain, and that there was 247 links which wrapped around the prisoner's body four times. Also there was a robin's nest with three eggs in it 4 meters to the right of Guy sensi's head. But the young jonin's main focus was directly 800 meters behind him. So far, the extent of his vision showed no pursuit. That was perfect, but Neji knew better than to hope. He had scouted the bridge ahead of time, he knew who had been waiting in the shadows for an ambush. Guy gave the signal, one sharp whistle, and they were moving again, jumping pell mell through the branches at incredible speed. Neji knew his teammates were some of the fastest, strongest ninja on the planet. He knew that without a doubt. He prayed it would be good enough to escape that _thing_ behind them. He however knew that it probably wouldn't be. _No, it probably won't be near enough at all._


	3. Chapter 3

3 days before

_3 days before_

"Sensei, I feel I must state again that given our current proximity to the target our pace is now incredibly excessive," Neji's voice contained just a hint of the annoyance which he was feeling, a slight edge that should have made it obvious to any normal person that he was holding back on considerably more emotion than he was displaying. Guy sensei was far from normal. "Nonsense Neji," came his over-positive response, "when you run a race, you must give all you have, not at the start, but when you see the finish line! Come on Lee!"

"Yes Gai sensei! You are so wise!" came an over enthused response from Might Gai's number one disciple as the two spandex wearing taijutsu masters pulled out all the stops and suddenly doubled their speed.

_Just who the hell, ARE we Racing! _spat Neji subconsciously. "Come on Tenten, we can't let them get to far ahead without us."

"Understood," came Tenten's resigned tone. They had both come to accept some years ago that there quite simply would be no changing Lee and Gai's nindo to something remotely realistic, so the best they could do was try to follow along and keep their more embarrassing antics to a minimum. Running a little harder was a small price to pay if they could find some way to stop Gai and Lee from hugging and crying in public. Or from walking around the village on their hands 500 times. Or from forcing them to do some stupid chant and dance in front of fellow shinobi. Neji and Tenten often wondered if the two realized that _they all_ had reputations to maintain.

In truth Neji had warmed to his mentor and his rather one sided rival considerably in the past three years. Yet for this mission, they would have to be exceptionally careful. A snatch and grab operation required a great deal of stealth and preparation, discipline and careful observation. Did Gai not realize the danger of speeding straight into their target area? What if the spy was already lying in wait? Neji had not been made a jonin merely do to his tremendous battle potential. Jonin had to be far more than that. Elite team leaders capable of carrying out A rank missions and above by themselves, a jonin was the epitome of the one man army, capable of reading a situation and developing the appropriate plan, reacting to ever changing dilemmas and determining life and death decisions in the blink of an eye. That was what was required of one selected to bear the high title of a jonin shinobi. So why, was their elite teacher of four years sprinting full out toward the object-

The Byakugon was an excellent warning system, and he saw the two green clad ninja kill their chakra flows signaling an immediate stop in their forward progress. Neji thus had enough early warning to break perfectly beside his teammates as if he had known exactly this was the spot they had predetermined to halt at. Tenten had no advanced warning and with a squawk overshot her compatriots by several branches before turning about irately to rejoin them. "Gai sensei," began Neji in a stern tone as he turned to face the team leader who stood puffing, chest out, hands on hips. Neji didn't want to, but he found himself about to give a stern dressing down to his childhood mentor. _Age and experience be damned, this was foolish._

"What's the idea of speeding head first straight to the objective sensei!? Remember how this could still be a trap!" Tenten cut in before Neji could get his first sentence off, speaking the words that he himself had been about to verbalize. "Of course Tenten," responded Might Gai calmly. "But you must learn to think like the enemy. Akatsuki knows the Leaf are no fools. If it is a trap, than the enemy surely would anticipate us taking a more circuitous route in order to _avoid a trap_ and would be waiting along those paths with their ambush. By taking the straight path as fast as possible, we minimize the time they have to set up the ambush, and travel down the very path they don't expect us to take."

"Wow Gai-sensei, your tactical forethought is truly the mark of your strategic genius! To have already anticipated your opponents' next move; incredible!" Neji should have been prepared, but he never ceased to be stunned by the speed Lee could find adjectives to praise his idol's newly discovered virtues, all the while furiously scribbling notes on their teacher's most recent piece nonsense.

"Sennnnsei," Tenten began irritably, "by that logic, surely if the Akatsuki know that we know it's a trap they could also know that we _won't_ take the circuitous path because we know the obvious path is unguarded, AND THEN SET UP ON THE OBVIOUS PATH AFTER ALL!"

"Tenten, don't over-think things. By the way, keep your voice down; this is a stealth mission if you remember?"

"Gheh," Tenten let out a strangled scream of defeat and hung her head in resignation.

"Besides, Neji has been watching this whole time with his Byakugon and has yet to spot any sign of an ambush-correct Neji?"

Lee's optimistic tone bordered on ignorance, but Neji had to face the fact he did have kind of a point.

"Yes, Lee, that's correct," Neji granted, but quickly followed, "however, that does not mean there wasn't something I missed. The Akatsuki are all S-ranked missing-nin after all, and the Byakugon is not entirely infallible."

Admitting his own limitations was not something Neji enjoyed. In fact, he struggled now to constantly surpass his limitations, but the issue still remained…

His statement seemed to finally ground Lee a little in reality and his overconfident tone and smile were downgraded to merely confident. "I have faith in your abilities Neji. I know you would not have missed something that would have endangered us." Neji looked away from Lee's gleaming eyes. "Thanks, Lee."

"All right, were almost to the objective," Gai suddenly spoke up, serious and focused, becoming what everyone one might expect from a battle hardened veteran of numerous battles. "Neji, how far?"

"Approximately 1000 meters to the bridge sensei," replied the Hyugaa, picking up his mentor's serious tone and attitude.

"All right. From here on out we will not speak. Maintain radio silence and spread out to familiarize yourselves with the area. Neji, keep a sharp eye. Only break radio silence if enemy is engaged. Meet back at the rally point in six hours." His tone turned thoughtful then. "We were given this mission in place of Team Kakashi, it should be them out here fighting for their friend."

_Sasuke Uchia,_ considered Neji. He could see the deep reflection in Lee and Tenten's faces as well. _Naruto, I'm sorry you can't be here. I know it must have hurt, being held back from this, of all missions._ Neji briefly remembered the spiky haired blonde, the utter sadness and dejection he had seen in his eyes as they had both recovered in the hospital following that failed mission three years ago. He had tried so hard… Neji knew as perhaps very few did, just what kind of person Uzumaki was. The kind that showed that there were no limits, no cages, except of your own making. _Why weren't you assigned?_ wondered the young jonin sadly.

"So," continued Gai gravely, "we will have to do far better than they would have. To honor the efforts they would have made and the lengths they would have gone to complete this mission- we will strive even harder! We will honor them and the success they would have achieved with even greater success!"

Neji _knew_ it really didn't make sense, what his former teacher had just said. But, in one of those rare moments, he _felt_ that Gai had somehow spoken exactly the right thing. On this mission, they would make everything go flawlessly. They owed it to team Kakashi. _I owe it to Naruto._

He saw the determination in Gai sensei's furrowed eyebrows, the eagerness in Lee's burning eyes, and the admiration in Tenten's slight smile.

"Disperse!"

With four jumps, the shinobi of the Leaf Village bounded away into the wilderness.

_Somewhere in the Land of Grass approaching Land of Fire's border, 45 minutes after Konoha ambush_

Kabuto had known pain that most people only felt as they died in the agony of battle. He had felt that kind of pain and lived through it. Kabuto had also felt the sting of embarrassment before. On one especially memorable occasion, he was undone by a lowly genin whom he had proceeded to underestimate up until the point where the twelve-year old no-talent ninja had almost killed him. In comparison, the pain and shame he felt now at being beaten, defeated, and lugged through the trees like a sack were quite mild. That didn't make it any less unbearable. He had regained his senses far faster than the Leaf-nin probably would have anticipated, and as such he was still feigning unconsciousness. His thoughts burned red with rage and violence. _These bastards. Lord Orochimaru is probably laughing his sick head off right now. These bastards. No, no, no. Calm down. We can still get out of this. And when we do, we'll make these shinobi pay. Oh yes, we'll see just how athletic they truly are._

Kabuto began to pool chakra toward his skull, slowly, hoping not to disturb the Hyugaa's powerful gaze. The Byakugan could see the chakra network, and a sudden pickup in the flow and concentration of chakra would no doubt signal that he was again awake and aware of his surroundings. _What a fine tool to have in surgery or experiments, _the medic nin considered as he quietly and inconspicuously treated his facial injuries. He was aware of the chain wrapped securely around his arms, securing his hands with a pair of manacles. The chain itself was quite heavy, its weight adding to its qualities as the method of restraint. His legs however were still free. He was draped over the strong right shoulder of one of his opponents, most likely Rock Lee judging from the approximate size of the scapula he was wresting on and being logical member of the group to carry an incarcerated individual. _Neji and Tenten shouldn't be encumbered as they function better with their arms free, and the group leader is no doubt in front,_ Kabuto calculated. _If I was in charge of this raid, I would have Neji in back watching the rear for follow on, Tenten in front of him ready to suppress with long range attack in any direction, Lee in the middle carrying the all important prisoner, and Might _Gai _plowing ahead forward, leading the way and looking for trouble. _Calculating the speed with his eyes closed was a little more difficult, but judging by the way the wind was puling his ponytail back, he imagined these ninja were going full out, using every bit of excess chakra to fly through the foliage. _Many would need a curse seal to set and sustain this pace, _he calculated half admirably.

"Having trouble Kabuto?" The superior tone the Hyugga used was quite grating. Kabuto opened his eyes as his now healed jaw involuntarily ground his teeth together. _Damn you Hyugga, I'll cut those opaque eyes out of your curse marked skull!_ Truth be told, he was having problems with his recovery jutsus. The blows along his chakra network had constricted the chakra flow along other paths, and had even closed some of the points. To put it simply, Kabuto was having problems moving chakra to the injured areas, and in some cases, couldn't even force it to manifest. He had a bad feeling about the condition of his nervous system.

"Neji you would make a fine doctor, the way you precisely hit those points, you have the skilled fingers of a surgeon," his voice was oiled and patronizing, not betraying in the slightest the roiling fury which lay beneath. For all the world it might have sounded as if Kabuto was taking a leisurely stroll with some friends.

The sharp gasp and head snap of Rock Lee confirmed that his caution had not been entirely wasted. _Bet your wondering how long I've been conscious, _Kabuto contemplated smugly.

"Did I startle you Lee? Were you thinking about something important?" His half mocking tone raised the color red into the chunin's cheeks, a clear mark of embarrassment.

"Still not as good as your rival back there are you? How far away is Neji? Four meters? Four and a half? He's pretty good."

"Shut up Yakushi!" came a sharp rebuke from above and slightly to his right. "Don't listen to him Lee! He just wants to get you angry."

Tenten was of course speaking truth. Kabuto was a master of manipulation and his statement had been meant to probe for a point of emotional weakness. He must have found it to for Rock Lee's face had flushed redder still at the mention of his lack of ability in comparison to his teammate. _That's good Lee. _Kabuto had snickered,_ Now lets get you to feel some real shame. _Sadly, Tenten's warning had alerted Lee to his mind trap and lowered blood pressure significantly. Kabuto tried another emotion. Fear.

"Don't feel bad Lee. It doesn't matter anyway how much better Neji is. He still isn't good enough to stop what's coming after us. Neji," he called back behind him lifting his head, "Any sign of Lord Oro-"

The Hyugga was beside Lee and the prisoner in an instant. "You will cease speaking now traitor before I decide to press all your chakra points and leave you in a condition where you no longer have the strength to form words."

Kabuto's eyes did the smiling for his now tightly closed lips. _Angry, huh Hyugga. That must mean you're scared. You've seen him haven't you? Before we even got to the bridge, you saw our Lord Orochimaru's true form with that all seeing eye._

The Hyugga dropped back, again falling into his rear guard position and Kabuto felt his repressed smile grow wider. _I wonder if it made sense to you. One who can see the chakra networks. I wonder if it made any sense, to see such a parasitic combination._ At this Kabuto shuttered. He admired what Orochimaru was, what he had in fact become. But that did not in any way make it any less revolting. A man could be impressed with something, even love it, while still being disturbed by it. Kabuto returned to his recovery jutsu. If he was going to aid in his escape he would need to be in as able condition as possible.


	4. Chapter 4

_Two days before…_

The target was still a good distance away from the bridge. Neji had finally found him, moving south, head low and walking with the wind, he seemed to be setting a pace which perfectly timed his arrival in two days. The figure was wrapped in a cowl and cloak, yet this offered no protection from the all-seeing eyes that Neji wielded. _Yakushi Kabuto, I'm not sure if I'm surprised or not._ The Leaf traitor's information in the Bingo Book had described him as incredibly dangerous, on a level comparable with Kakashi Hatake. The last time Neji had seen him he had marked him as a no-talent loser who was wasting the chunnin examiners' time. He had felt his suspicion had been confirmed when he had bowed out of the preliminaries rather than go forward. Neji knew he had been quite arrogant in those days, but never had he felt so, _so_ _blind._ .

Neji returned to the here and now before his thoughts drifted too far from his current reality. _Yakushi Kabuto, age 23, height: 177cm, Blood type:AB. Slightly farsighted. Medical-nin. Your incredibly dangerous, even battling the 5__th__ Hokage to a standstill three years ago. You demonstrate both incredible signs of loyalty to Orochimaru yet also ulterior motives, even going so far as to heal the heiress of a powerful enemy clan._

The report made by Kiba Inuzuka during the chunnin exams had been logged and recorded in the Bingo Book. The ninja who compiled the black lists in the village were nothing if not thorough. Neji could only imagine some meticulous attendant had checked and rechecked all available reports and accounts of the battle inside the stadium to isolate the actions taken by the ANBU-impersonating traitor. Neji also felt his jaw twitch involuntarily at the thought of those times. A villain had shown more compassion to Hinata than he himself had, even healing the injury that he had inflicted on the gentle girl he was sworn to protect. _I was different then. No longer._ Neji consoled himself. _But has Kabuto changed?_

The young jonin was moving slowly away from his target, setting a pace that matched his target's perfectly, keeping him within visual distance at seven hundred fifty nine meters as they both traveled steadily toward the fated bridge. Neji did not like the situation. Having scouted the bridge and the surrounding area in a matter of minutes, (as compared to his teammates who would remain in the vicinity several hours) Neji had moved out several miles north. The odds were not exceptionally high (there was actually no way of even knowing if there was a spy out there or if it was just an Akutski trap) yet a check of the general area in growing concentric circles with the Byakugan would provide some level of security. The white eyes however were beginning to strain. Nearly twenty four hours of non-stop use was starting to take a toll and Neji knew he would have to rest soon. He had been lucky to find his target so quickly. Now, moving back he had to be incredibly careful, covering his trail so as not to disturb the approaching target that there was someone ahead of him.

_You still don't make any sense Kabuto, _Neji pondered as he dusted another part of his path clean of footprints and broken twigs, _You're moving at a speed that will put you at the bridge in precisely two days, and your not covering your trail. Are you that confident in your master's trust?_ It fit his profile to be sure, but that did not put the Hyugga's mind at ease. To recognize a pattern was one thing, to understand it another. Something about this was making Neji more and more nervous. A slight headache was beginning to develop behind his pale eyes and he knew he should complete his surveillance and return quickly. Only within the relative security of the platoon would he feel safe enough to lower the Byakugan's gaze for a much needed rest. Also, the identity of the spy would help immensely in the preparations to capture him. Yet something held the jonin back. Kabuto's irrational behavior was irritating to the extreme, and Neji felt it adding to the discomfort of the building headache. _Why would you leave a trail? Kabuto, even the most ignorant of spies recognizes the need to cover one's tracks. Unless you don't care, or unless-_

The next thought made Neji's blood run like ice through his veins. Headache forgotten, Neji quickly turned to the nearest tree, dusted his sandals clean of dirt, and as carefully as he could, walked up its trunk. Once among the branches Neji sent chakra flooding his legs and sprang back south, careful to stay only among the middle strong branches so as not to shake the trees and betray his position. He quickly lost sight of Kabuto as he began to add hundreds of meters to the distance between him and the target. Three kilometers away, Neji deemed the distance satisfactory and halted his movement back toward the bridge. Turning around, and casting his gaze back toward the general direction of Kabuto's apparent path, Neji held his breath and re-concentrated his Byakugan.

Normally the white eyes of the Hyugga clan presented a spherical view of the world at an extended distance, varying with one's level of training, development, and natural inclination toward the bloodline. Yet this fantastic genetic trait provided still another bonus. By channeling the chakra into a concentrated field behind the eyes, the Byakugan's penetrating and telescopic range extended an unbelievable range (albeit limited to a 90 degrees field of vison). Once more Neji could see Kabuto leisurely proceeding in his direction now several kilometers behind, but this was no longer the Leaf-nin's concern. _How far back would someone travel?_ wondered the prodigy, _a kilometer? Two?_

At five kilometers Neji's eyes began to sting from the strain. He knew he would have to rest after this, it was getting to be to much for even his stamina and skill. _Not yet, just a little farther, we must be sure._ Neji felt the sweat being absorbed by his forehead protector band, felt it soak all the way through. He also felt the odd curse mark tingle on his flesh, its placement on his brow intimately tied to his Byakugan. At eight kilometers Neji ceased extending his sight. Nothing. There was no one following behind Kabuto. Neji let out the breath he didn't know he'd been holding. He didn't know why, but he suddenly felt a massive wash of relief through his tense body. The thought that Kabuto might be intentionally leading someone, (perhaps the rogue Sannin himself) had been a terrifying prospect to consider. A triple cross, when all things were considered about Kabuto Yakushi, was not outside the realm of possibility.

Neji had drawn his vision back to two kilometer when the breeze picked up, blowing a few leaves and twigs toward his eyes, a slight turning of his head to the left was all he needed to let the loose foliage bounce harmlessness off his cheek. That was how Neji found himself looking into the eyes of a predator. Sharp, serpentine, animal like, the eyes froze the leaf-nin like a rodent under a cobra's spell. Neji had long believed that the eyes of a creature contained the reflection of its being; and what the young prodigy now witnessed was the antithesis of his existence. No reason, no purpose, no order. Just insanity personified. Milliseconds crawled like minutes and for a brief second, Neji Hyugga almost went mad. His vision snapped back then, continuing to withdraw, no longer taking in the eyes but the whole picture. There was a body, a person, two hundred meters to the left of Kabuto's path, traveling parallel the medic nin's route toward the bridge. Neji felt his heart stammer. The person's garb, stance, outline and eyes; Neji knew exactly who this one was. Knew his worst fears confirmed then. And then, amazingly, Neji realized that his worst fears did not come anywhere close to the nightmare he was now witnessing.

_Two hours later._

Tenten was used to seeing Neji confident, cool, and collected. She had seen him in other states as well. In the early days he had worn arrogance like armor. Contempt had always been present in his words when he addressed his teammates, and even after working together for a year it had only been by their first chunnin examines that they had achieved anything resembling respect between the three of them. Following those exams Neji had (thankfully) continued to change. Suddenly respect, courtesy, even a distant friendliness had been added to his repertoire of expression. Gone for the most part (_he was still a Hyugga_) was the raw arrogance, and the deeply ingrained pessimism concerning fate. Yet, even as the team grew closer, Neji's character always remained true to his nature. Very little surprised him (easy to understand given his abilities), and very little disturbed him. He did not suffer from flashes of indecision or bursts of irrationality. Most of his emotional stress was usually generated by Lee's constant challenges or argumentative confrontations over some questionable pearl of Gai's wisdom (Tenten had never fully analyzed it, but she was almost positive that most of his limited expressions of friendship were demonstrated in these stupid squabbles). _Just his way of reaching out,_ she had supposed.

But now Tenten was seeing a Neji with which she was almost entirely unfamiliar with. Concern and worry were radiating off of the Hyugga, and he was making no attempt to hide it. That was bad. _If he wants us to see he's concerned it means two things. He's too worried to conceal it, or he wants us to be worried._ Tenten bit her lower lip in frustration. This wasn't good at all. "Tenten, Gai-sensei and Neji have been talking for some time now, how serious do you think it is?"

Lee's voice was hushed as he landed beside his teammate on the tree branch some eight meters away from where the two jonin had been holding a hushed council for what was now approaching ten minutes. _How should I know Lee!?_ She nearly snapped, only just in time realizing how the tension was affecting her. _Just calm down Tenten, we need to be calm, especially in those situations which are most frustrating._ "I'm not sure Lee, but I'd bet pretty bad."

Gai suddenly ceased conversing and glanced in their direction. "I think we're about to find out," she murmured to no one in particular.

It was true, Might Gai played favorites amongst his students. Lee, by far, received the most attention of his original genin squad. Gai could, to some extent, justify it by saying that it was Lee who had needed the most attention, but in truth, it was their similarity which had drawn Gai to dote almost unceasingly on his young protégé. Yet Neji had rarely needed help. Gai had of course taught him the basics, as well as a few taijutsu tricks. And of course, even though Neji practiced almost exclusively Gentle Fist didn't mean that Gai's workout routines hadn't created one of the strongest, fastest, and youngest jonin in Konoha since the time of the Third World War. It was no small point of pride that Gai had also produced the only jonin ranked shinobi from amidst his small group of friends. _Well, produced might not be the appropriate word, more like, oversaw, _Gai mentally corrected himself. Neji was more than capable. He was self-taught. Gai had only to sit back really and watch his development. There seemed to be no challenge he did not easily engage and overcome. Unlike his other students, Gai had never worried if Neji would be incapable of handling a mission. Which was why this new event was most disconcerting.

As Gai turned his glance toward Lee and Tenten he reflected on Neji's tense report. _It is not at all like we thought. What the Sannin is. Its chakra network is duel. Parasitic. No wonder the 5__th__ Hokage couldn't deal serious damage to him. He, it-Sensei, I am at an utter loss._

Now Gai had to make a choice. It was an ambush just not the one that the Leaf had feared. Akatsuki wasn't going to ambush them, it was Orochimaru who was planning to ambush the Akatsuki. Kabuto's nonchalant approach made it clear he wanted to be followed, and the rogue Sannin would only come out of his den if he felt he had something important to do. Well, now was the terrible moment of truth. Gai could scrub the mission. That was the safe move. Two jonin supported by high level chunnin, were no a match for a Sannin. Especially if what Neji said was true, they didn't even have the benefit of fighting something that was human. Yet "give up, and, "go home," weren't phrases in Gai lexicon. The teacher set his jaw fixedly. He was a leaf-nin of Konoha, and if he couldn't accomplish this mission, he wasn't worthy to call Kakashi his rival. Such a thought was unthinkable and Gai used it as a firewall. Despite the presence of the leader of Sound, he still had one distinct advantage. They didn't know his team was here. It was unlikely he could kill Orochimaru… but capturing Kabuto… Gai knew that a well timed ambush from his team could bring the medic-nin down quickly. The question was, could they outpace the snake lord? Slowly, a plan began to form behind the giant eyebrows of Might Gai. He would not quit this mission, he still had a few aces up his sleeve.

"Neji, if this, thing, that Orochimaru has become is parasitic, does that mean its harming the host?"

"Sensei, its likely that his chakra network is not-" here the Hyugga paused, looking thoughtful, "what are we planning sensei?"

In another 10 minutes they had hashed out the outlines of a plan so crazy, it might have worked.


	5. Chapter 5

_Somewhere in the Land of Grass approaching Land of Fire's border, 55 minutes after Konoha ambush_

"Sensei, he's coming!!" Neji's sharp warning struck the Leaf team like a whip. Kabuto grinned quietly. Gai didn't hesitate, nor did Neji for that matter. Like a choreographed gym routine, the rear lookout put on a burst of speed, leaping vertically across tree trunks and positioning himself at the front of the formation. Simultaneously, Gai performed a reverse of the same maneuver traveling counter-clockwise, becoming the rear guard. Then, with an explosion of chakra, the three junior ninjas and their prisoner rocketed forward, leaving their now motionless mentor far behind. Might Gai stood alone, in a suddenly very quite forest, waiting for a creature whose skills vastly dwarfed his own. _That's funny,_ Gai suddenly pondered, _I never thought I would be nervous before a fight. Was it like this for Kakashi when he encountered him?_ Gai wondered if he would ever get a chance to ask. He had only managed to open the 5th gate when the monster fell upon on him.

Kabuto knew it was now or never. The speed they were traveling was fast, far faster than they had been going just a moment ago. The wind was pulling his skin taught and had his hair straight back, and at this rate they would be to the border within hours. Yet the speed also had its benefits; the more velocity they had, the more effective his escape plan would be. All he needed was an opening…

For just an instant, perhaps half a heartbeat, Lee hesitated. It was a muscle twitch really, part of him trying to look back, one last time for his mentor- a man who had just placed himself between his team and a monstrous evil. Kabuto didn't hesitate. In that instant of distraction, he struck like a coiled snake. There was a pressure point just under the upper arm, which the circulatory system used to relay the majority of blood to the appendage. Curling his unbound legs around in a lightening fast strike, Kabuto's knee found it by second nature and with crushing force gave Rock Lee received a sudden education in anatomy. There was an abrupt, unplanned exhalation of air on the part of the stunned chunnin, then, things seemed to slow down. Lee's arm was uncurling from his prisoner, releasing his firm hold on Kabuto's now very active form.

Several things happened at once. Though Kabuto couldn't be sure, he thought he heard Tenten gasp in surprise as he twisted off Lee's shoulder. Legs still in motion and throwing himself backwards headfirst, Kabuto made use of his incredible flexibility; the missing-nin struck the inside of his former jailer's knees with one leg while scissoring the front of his neck with his other. At this point, both were falling, Kabuto using the pressure of his legs to whip around the front of the stunned chunnin's form and forcing Lee's body to arch backward. Kabuto could hear Neji's voice on the wind calling out his imperiled comrade's name. _Too late,_ gloated Kabuto inwardly. They had dropped no more than a meter, but Kabuto's scissoring legs had tightened around the points of contact with Lee's now airborne body, turning his fall into an angled dissent with his head facing a more sheer angle. It wasn't enough to turn Lee upside-down , but it was enough to angle his cranium into the path of a fairly solid branch directly below them on their speeding drop. _Cthunk!_ Things seemed to suddenly speed back up as the back of Lee's bowl cut skull ricocheted off the branch and his bright startled eyes suddenly went dull. With amazing agility, Kabuto disentangled his legs from the now senseless shinobi and pushed his broken form away with an airborne kick.

_Gotty-_"oooff!" Kabuto's rejoice transitioned into an external grunt as his backside bounced off another branch. Arching his back, the nimble young nin slid around the limb like a serpent, pitching headfirst toward the ground, only to stop his decent with a sudden burst of chakra from his feet, sticking him upside-down to the bottom of the branch. Now he took stock of his surroundings.

A kunai knife had pinned Rock Lee's inert form to a nearby tree, roughly parallel Kabuto's position. The blade had passed through his chunnin vest and clothing making his appearance quite comical, with all four limbs hanging limply down, Kabuto had a brief mental image of a slaughtered calf. Tenten was moving toward the senseless Leaf-nin, and then there was the Hyugaa; he was coming straight at him like a guided missile, pupil-less eyes burning hole's into Kabuto's skull. _Good. I want your full attention Hyugga, let's see how you've improved._ An instant before the Leaf-nin would have impacted, Kabuto flooded his legs with chakra. Teleporting was actually a misnomer for the technique-- "high speed movement" was more applicable, but essentially, one instant Kabuto was there, the next he wasn't.

Neji Hyugga snarled in frustration, bouncing off a tree trunk, and angling toward the ground. _Byakugan!. _His penetrating gaze expanded, and as he struck the earth he already knew Kabuto was free from his bonds. The sound-nin had gone straight down, using an earth style technique to pass into the soil while ditching his chains on the surface. Neji gave his enemy a grudging bit of respect. Most opponents after a Gentle Fist attack, even one not meant to inflict lethal damage, were no longer able to manipulate their chakra at any type of skill level. Kabuto was still demonstrating the abilities of an expert. Neji briefly wondered where the fault lay. Had he failed somehow in his technique? Or was his opponent simply so advanced that even with a handicap he could perform at this level?

An explosion to the north ripped his thoughts in a completely different direction. The blast, perhaps one kilometer away, hurled knife-sized splinters of broken trees like shrapnel, and Neji instinctively kicked his rotational defense into play, skipping the debris over chakra-coated flesh. He hoped Tenten and Lee were in decent cover. The blast had come from the direction they had just left their sensei to face off with the Sound's leader. _What is Master Gai doing?!_ He returned his gaze to the search for Kabuto. Simply being beneath the ground was no concealment from his eyes. "Tenten," he began to holler up orders into the trees, "get Lee awake, I'll need him down here to smash-yagh!"

Neji felt the tendon in his left ankle slice in two. His abilities saved him, channeling chakra to his right heel, he pushed off the ground, while with the other initiating a Gentle Fist attack and sending chakra into Kabuto's hand which had breached the soil beneath him and locked around his ankle. Neji shot up, partly pulling the ambusher from the earth he had been swimming through, exposing him to the waist. He saw his opponent's eye's then and shuddered. Blood crazed and violent, he had no doubt now that this man was quite unbalanced. Kabuto's hand was off his ankle, fingers burned from the chakra release, but his other was coming around with a kunai, the arc clearly meant to become a throw at the airborne Hyugga. Neji's reaction was again almost instinct; aiming his palm and expelling chakra, the force of the technique pitched Kabuto back head-over-heels, kunai blown away un-thrown. Kabuto rolled with it, seamlessly sliding back into the earth headfirst as if the ground was no more substantial than the air. Neji connected with a tree trunk behind him, stuck to it with his chakra from one hand and his uninjured foot, and cursed. _How could I have been so stupid!_ he admonished himself. _Right during the explosion I was distracted using my defense. He must have localized my position from the vibration of the spin through the ground and moved when my eyes were off him._ Neji cursed again. _With one leg down, I won't be able to rotate as effectively._ Neji again had a fix on their would-be prisoner, two meters off the tree trunk and two meters beneath the surface. It seemed his chakra network was active around his injured hand, no doubt healing the damage that had been dealt him.

"Neji!" came a concerned cry from above.

"Tenten!' I'm all right!" he shouted back. "Stay elevated and watch the ground, he's using a doton, but he needs to break the surface to attack! When he does, you-"

For the second time that day, Neji Hyugga was cut short by a surprise his eyes failed to detect. His attacker's chakra network was not functioning. That was the first thing he thought as a young man he'd never seen before sprang at him with a makeshift club. _Is that a tree branch?! _Neji's startled mind verbalized as the zombie-like attacker threw itself at him, makeshift club arcing down. Neji knew he was in trouble as he pushed horizontally of the tree branch, barely dodging the attack. His only hope was to stay off the ground. This new opponent's attack had been fast, but not incredibly so; the real threat still lurked beneath the surface. _What is going on?_ wondered Neji as he sailed through the air, _Am I fighting a dead man?_ That seemed to be the only explanation for the lack of chakra in the corpse-thing pursuing him. _No wonder I didn't see its approach, its chakra signature is so low, and I was focused on determining the whereabouts of an active network!_ Neji's sharp mind had his answer. Kabuto was summoning and using corpses via the Dead Soul technique! Then the ground beneath him exploded as four more corpse soldiers, and one very active chakra user hurtled skyward.

_One kilometer north, Grass Country._

Orochimaru was having the time of his life. Might Gai was only appearing as light now- blurring across his peripheral vision whenever he was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the red and green flash. Another pulverizing hit sent the Sannin flying backward, smashing his substitution body through three more trees and over a distance of approximately a kilometer. _Oh-ho, still not tired of throwing me around Gai?_ Orochimaru chuckled to himself. To tell the truth, the display of speed and strength was quite impressive, a feat which was really starting to have an impact on his chakra reserves. He just could not keep replacing his forms at this rate, especially given the weakening of his host body. _So be it_. The snake lord had landed at an odd angle this time, somewhat on his head, his legs canted crazily back over his limp form. As he regurgitated his form anew his eyes fixed on his prey, the elite jonin squaring off in front of him, form wracked by heavy breathing. "Why Gai, I had know idea you had mastered the Eight Gates to this level. To still be able to stand after opening the Sixth? I admit, if I hadn't come in expecting that first attack, why, I wouldn't be here conversing with you. How lucky I am that you're so predictable."

The taunt triggered a reaction from the taijutsu master, a slight tick of his brows over his power-flooded eyes. "No words Gai? Are you getting tired? Frustrated? I hope those students of yours are more of a challenge-" here his voice went sinister and alien, "-_but I doubt it_."

To Orochimaru's surprise, Gai's breathing suddenly regulated. More chakra, as if from nowhere, was suddenly welling up inside and around Might Guy's form, as if his body could seemingly no longer contain it all. A mad vortex of energy that made the 6th Gate's release look like a mild gale was engulfing the Leaf-nin. Orochimaru's surprise turned to glee. _Looks like this next attack could kill me as well._ Orochimaru placed both thumbs in his mouth and bit down as he watched the 7th Gate release in Might Gai.

_Four kilometer south, Grass Country_

_._

_Almost there-_ Kabuto's thoughts were rapid and calculating as he pressed his palm down harder into the onrush of chakra Neji was using to protect his heart. Kabuto's chakra blade sliced a little further in, cutting a few more millimeters through the geyser of energy the Hyugga was exploding as a final defense against the severing of his ventricles. Kabuto had the jonin prone with both hands pinned the ground. One was trapped under Kabuto's right foot, the other pinned under the corpse of a twelve-year old, held firmly down with Kabuto's left hand. The medic-nin's pose was spider like, hunched over his wire-tangled prey from the left side, his chakra bladed right hand pressing down on Neji's very life force, his face roughly perpendicular with his victim's. The stance was not an easy one to maintain, but the Hyugga's main focus was on preventing the destruction of his cardiovascular system; as such he had little energy to devote to freeing his arms or employing other jutsu.

Kabuto slightly shifted some of the weight off his crouched left foot just underneath Neji's head in order to force more pressure into his offence. The Hyugga's eyes, while powerful, had not been prepared for Kabuto's trap. Knowledge of the Byakugan was a carefully guarded secret, but Kabuto and Lord Orochimaru both had some idea of its abilities, one of the benefits of living in the Leaf village most of their lives.

Neji was certainly capable of detecting nonliving objects underneath surfaces, but the Byakugan did suffer when attempting to distinguish those items that were the same temperature as the surrounding area (unless the user was specifically looking for it). Neji had also been concentrating on discerning the chakra network of an active opponent. An otherwise safe assumption invalidated by the Dead Soul's technique Kabuto had mastered in his youth. Summoning the corpses had been easy enough, Neji no doubt had mistaken his chakra increase as a healing jutsu. Once he had emplaced the bodies at a level deeper than his own, it had been a simple matter of provoking the Hyugga into the air with a feint from the first corpse. Airborne over the soft earth, Kabuto had triggered his undead army, sending them skyward like makeshift missiles homing in on their target. Having looked no deeper than his target, he had missed the elaborate trap that Kabuto had rigged just beneath his vision.

Neji had of course initiated an airborne rotation (one of the few places his technique would be unimpeded by his severed Achilles tendon), but that was what the wires Kabuto had wrapped around the cadavers' hands had been for. Tossing the bodies away from him with his rotation, the metal lines had caught and wound themselves around his form, slowing his defense at the exact time Kabuto had launched his final attack.

During his earth leap technique, Kabuto had secured the binding chains that had once held him with his leg, as well as one of the deactivated corpses on its return path to the ground. His attack had been flawless, striking out at the Hyugga at three points simultaneously, disabling his arms and shielding himself from further Gentle Fist attacks with dead flesh and iron. At the same time his free hand had struck for Neji's vitals. They had come down with a thud, the shock of the landing deactivating the Hyugga's Byakugan and knocking the air from his lungs. Only Neji's innate chakra projection abilities had prevented the end, holding off the killing blow with his very life force. Yet the expenditure was costly, both Kabuto and Neji realized that he was rapidly depleting his chakra to the point where he would be unable to resist in just a few seconds. Among a carpet of corpses, the two shinobi struggled.

Kabuto saw the desperation in his opponent's straining features, knew that he was just milliseconds away from attaining victory. _You'll make an excellent specimen Neji, such a shame I won't be able to recover these eyes though…_ The whistling, much to the sociopath's disappointment, signaled he would not get his strike in. Instinctively he leapt back off the Hyugga, pulling the child corpse up in front of him as shield. The shower of kunai knives and needles that impacted the body was incredible, Kabuto grimaced realizing that this cadaver would no longer be suitable for his needs and now he would need to find a replacement. This became the least of his concerns as the exploding tags attached to the kunai detonated, shredding his shield of flesh and tossing him roughly against a tree trunk. Somewhere behind him another massive explosion took place, the force of this one bending the very tree trunks in the back blast. _What is Lord Orochimaru doing?_ wondered Kabuto, as he sprang sideways behind nearby cover, just barely dodging several javelins that the weapons mistress had pulled from thin air.

Kabuto quickly considered his options behind a fallen log. He was starting to run low on chakra, but that was nothing a soldier pill couldn't solve for a short period of time. He certainly did not want retreat back to Lord Orochimaru, the battle behind him was reaching truly epic proportions. He was outnumbered here, but he still had hurt the Hyugga, probably incapacitated Lee. That only left Tenten. Kabuto had decided. These Leaf-nin were not about to slip away. As Kabuto cracked the soldier pill between his teeth, his hands began weaving the appropriate signs.


	6. Chapter 6

_4 kilometers north, Grass Country._

Might Gai no longer felt the world around him. He had become his own universe- a being of matter that was rapidly changing into light. His body was a vessel, and nothing was contained within the skin now but energy and purpose. The power of youth had become something real and tangible- and it was trying to hammer its way out of the shell that was Gai.

He was airborne, gravity was no longer strong enough to force his obedience to its laws. Below him, a massive crater had been created. There were no trees within its thirty meter radius, nor signs of the Triple Rashomon Gates he had plowed through in the attempt to end the Serpent's abominable existence. Vaguely, a part of Might Gai was aware things hadn't gone to plan.

_Neji, NejiNeji… _the name continued to repeat in the jonin's power drunk mind, trying to put together what it meant or where the thought was going. _NejiNeji… Where is Neji?!_ The thought finally metastasized. _Neji should have doubled back long before now. Did something go wrong?_ Human emotions that were not just anger and thrill began to collect again inside Might Gai. Concern was slowly seeping in, poisoning the heady wine of confidence. In truth, Neji should have arrived at the moment the Seventh Gate was opened, assuming of course he had confirmed the presence of their reinforcements and the safety of the remaining team. That meant either that Neji had been unable to confirm the reinforcements, or, _Neji had to help protect the team. What's gone wrong?_

He was instinctively aware that Orochimaru must have burned an incredible amount of chakra in order to protect himself from his previous attacks. He was slightly more aware that it made little difference if he didn't have a fresh offensive team coming to his rescue. Neji would have been able to tell him the exact condition of the parasite, just how far it was pushing its host's networks. Neji could have determined if the monster that had once been a shinobi legend could maintain sustained combat for any further length of time. As it was, Neji was not here. Might Gai had no choice but to guess at the exact state of his opponent.

That guess further compelled Gai's thoughts away from hope. There he stood, in the center of desolation, appearing almost untouched and unshaken. Gai's eyesight was hardly enhanced by the chakra flood he had initiated, from his elevation it appeared that the enemy was gazing up at him, yellow eyes fixed, ivory skin unblemished, mouth slightly agape in twisted smile. Its kimono appeared to remain unmarked, although its earthy tones might have hid any discoloration. Blows that would have shattered mountains and remade the landscape were like rain pattering off its flesh. For all the world it appeared all Might Gai's attacks had been in vain.

He felt his heart sink as gravity began to pull on his frame once more. He might have appeared to be a newborn sun not a second before, but like any shooting star, his life span was spent in an instant. The Leaf-nin's chakra reserves were now depleted to the point of destruction- the plan had called for him to remain in this form for one minute at maximum; it was now ten seconds past that. There was only one thing left to do- and there was only one way to do that as well. Only one last source of chakra Gai could tap.

In truth, Might Gai had prepared himself for what he was about to do. He had been ready since the day he learned he was capable of such a feat. It certainly wasn't a backup plan, nor had he discussed it with his precious students. If everything had gone perfectly, if nothing had interfered with the timetable, they might have been able to drive the Sound leader away. They might have been able to complete the mission without any real sacrifice.

_Might have._ That option was gone now; time was up. The only thing left was a personal directive. That he would never play his final card unless he was protecting something so precious, that even his nindo paled in value. That criteria had just been met. The Snake Lord threatened not just himself, not just his precious students, not just the Leaf Village and the Land of Fire. It was a threat to value itself, to any and every morale right and reality. Nor was it an idle threat. If the thing that had been Orochimaru was not stopped, it would continue to go on polluting and defiling everything it touched and sought out. The abomination would destroy the very nature of value. And without value, a nindo could not exist.

Might Gai gazed down at his enemy and began to open the Eigth Gate. That was how Gai became aware that he had been stabbed. The blade had run right through his chest, puncturing his heart, yet he felt no pain. Vaguely he was aware of the monster's presence behind him, noting ever so briefly that the mud clone he had been watching so carefully was melting away back into its nature. The Snake Sannin cackled madly behind his floating form, the noise slightly garbled as if something was in its mouth. Might Gai's strength was gone in an instant, and he really was falling now, but it seemed to be taking forever to reach the ground.

_He got behind me? When?_ The question seemed irrelevant at this point, but Gai supposed it had happened as he had smashed the triple barrier into atoms. Orochimaru must have moved, leaving a clone in his place while shifting into the surrounding forest. Remaining stationary, even while levitating, had been a mistake. _Using the gates makes you careless,_ a detached voice berated inside his suddenly weary head. The enemy had outmaneuvered him, gotten airborne, and launched its fatal attack.

Struggling now, Gai tried to shift his head around to confirm his suspicions. _When did it get so hard to move?_ A more personal part of him asked. Sure enough, there was Orochimaru's long dark hair; it seemed as if the Snake Sannin had fired the blade from between his very lips! His body however, was nowhere to be found, the only other part of the snake lord's anatomy was an impossibly long neck extending back into the tree line 200 meters beneath them. Gai felt like throwing up for an instant, and then even that basic response passed into the approaching beyond.

The world was slowly slipping away, Gai felt eternity creeping in, millisecond by eternal millisecond. _Paralyzed huh? The great Might Gai, master of the human physique, can't even move a muscle?_ The voice was his, but he felt detached from it, as if it wasn't him anymore, but someone else speaking to him. _I can't, I'm sorry but I can't. I feel. Old._ _Helpless. At least there's no pain._

_That's not like me_

He had a brief flash then, it seemed to set his pierced heart aflame. Kakashi standing over his defeated form. _Sharingan genjitsu. I'll have to be careful of that from now on._ A young boy with huge eyebrows and a long braid of hair being mocked on the academy grounds by his classmates, still doing pushups. _He's going to be better than me._ Pupilless eyes that were drifting to the corner of the room avoiding his teacher's in shame. _Is he going to keep his word?_ A broken girl in a hospital bed telling him she's find, he'd better go visit his favorite. _Am I that obvious?_

A host of other memories paraded by his eyes: wars, friends, his long dead sensei, the mission where he had first taken another human life. Gai felt insignificant in it all. Was this how the best perished- in the jaws of a monster? What was it all for if he couldn't protect those most precious? If he couldn't protect his own ideal?

The decent had ceased its surreal slow motion, but it mattered little to Might Gai. He had made rules his entire life, and when he couldn't follow one, he made up another. So Gai made his final rule. If he could not be able to kill the serpent lord, he would take away one of its fangs.

Orochimaru felt his moment of victory suddenly melt away. _Gai is producing more chakra?! Impossible, I've pierced his heart!_

The technique was going wrong. With his heart pierced he couldn't focus the tidal wave of chakra that was crashing forth- instead, it was all being poured into his opponent's weapon. As Might Gai's existence burst into a million pieces, so did the unbreakable blade of the Kusanagi longsword.

_4 kilometers south, Grass Country_

Being able to use effective genjutsu in combat was a rare talent, even among ninjitsu masters. The Uchiha clan had been renowned for their mastery of the skill, but in all fairness, this was mainly do to the genetic heritage of the sharingan. To actually weave signs and manipulate an opponent's chakra in such a subtle way to bring on illusions was no easy feat.

Given his innate talent (often times compared to the copy-nin himself) Kabuto had been able to master the third ninja technique, and when he truly concentrated, was able to create some of the most powerful illusions. It became infinitely harder however in the heat of battle, and only those with the finest control over their own chakra (as well as years of practice) could manage it. Even for one who did possess such skills, the depth of the illusion was usually quite simple. Itachi Uchiha and the Leaf jonin Kurenai Yuhi were two exceptions. Kabuto was not. _Makes little difference,_ the prodigy calculated smugly. His opponents, he knew, were infinitely worse at this type of chakra manipulation. He would not be able to pull off some grand illusion, but then again, he didn't need to.

Tenten knew she was outmatched. She was skilled to be sure. Even as a genin she had possessed uncanny accuracy with shinobi blades and throwing tools. Mixed with a natural sense of balance and physical aptitude she was far above most chunnin (and perhaps even a few jonin) when it came to employing the most common tools of a ninja. Yet Kabuto Yakushi held the advantage here.

While Tenten was a certifiable master in one area, her opponent was an expert in several. He had already disabled Lee, (she had found it impossible to wake him from his stupor, the blow to his skull taking away his reasoning faculties) and had pushed Neji to the edge of exhaustion. True, she had him on the defensive, and knew that he had sustained some damage and chakra expenditure, yet she was no fool; these were only temporary setbacks to one as talented as the Leaf traitor. _Why didn't we get his gear off when we had the chance?_ she worried fruitlessly.

Tenten was moving quickly now, leaping from tree trunk to tree trunk parallel to the ground, quickly circling around the obstacle which Kabuto had slipped behind. _I've got to buy us some time at the very least._ "Hyyyyah!" the battle cry burst from her lips as the kunai leapt from her hands, Tenten's eyes locked on her target. He was hunched low, hands clasped in seal formation, his only response a sharp glance, his eyes set with killer intent. Tenten immediately began searching for the real target before the blades pierced the replacement technique- Kabuto wasn't even trying to dodge her attack.

_Thud!thunk!_ Tenten heard the blades impact her flesh before she felt the pain, a slight side effect of genjutsu illusion she was under. "awwagh-!" her scream came out strangled, mixing with the bile that was suddenly rising in her throat. The Kabuto replacement smirked back at her, the kunai blades sticking perfectly out of his chest. Then the pain disrupted the illusion, and Tenten saw her folly.

She was falling now, no longer able to keep the chakra balanced in her feet to grip the tree. She did manage a slight role to her left shoulder on the way down preventing the kunai from being jammed any further into her belly and right arm. The impact was still jarring and the kunoichi found herself retching up a mouthful of blood and stomach acid. _He changed my aim point-made me think he was using a replacement technique when he was just standing in front of me!_ The realization was almost as painful as her wounds.

The injuries were incredibly distracting, but not incapacitating. Tenten was still terribly aware of just how much danger she was in, the pain only heightening her fear. Responding to it was proving difficult however. She managed to roll to her back, spasms of pain ricocheting through her body, and she fought down the next violent urge to throw up.

His shadow was over her now, blocking out the sunlight that had been coming through the leaves. Through the pain, Tenten was vaguely aware that the bloodlust had left the maniac's eyes, now replaced with a level of smug satisfaction.

"That was a very brave thing you did Tenten, charging in on me even though you knew I had the upper hand. Not smart, but certainly brave."

Kabuto crouched down above her now, bending his head so his glasses were parallel with her eyes; the sunlight was passing through the lenses turning them bright and opaque. Tenten had to squint to keep looking at the glowing monstrosity that leered above her. _He keeps spare glasses with him?_ Tenten briefly wondered.

"I'm sorry, but you won't be saving your friends today. It probably would have worked out better if you had just tried to evacuate one of them. Now, none of you will be leaving."

"Bet..Better,.. run be-fore, h-h-he getsback," Tenten managed to spit back, the defiance pathetically tainted by roiling agony that was squeezing her eyes shut.

Kabuto's patronizing tone was like a parent addressing a naughty toddler. "Tenten, you shouldn't be speaking in your condition, especially just to make idle threats. Neji's got one good leg and is close to chakra exhaustion; I won't need Byakugan to find where you have moved him to. And I don't care how hard you shook Lee, the blow I landed was good enough to put him in a coma. He really picked the worst time to turn sentimental. So please, don't embarrass yourself any further by bluffing."

"No,.. bluff," she managed to retort breathlessly- Tenten was becoming more and more sure that the pain alone from the belly wound was going to kill her.

"Of course your not," Kabuto sighed in exacerbated reply as he extended his hand toward the hilt protruding from Tenten's digestion tract.

A delicate gloved hand caught Kabuto's wrist, and despite being quite petite, it gripped like an iron vice. Kabuto had left his seventh and final chuunin exam in Konoha during the beginning of the preliminary third round. As such, he had heard only second-hand how Rock Lee had fought the Sand's future fifth Kazekage almost to a standstill only to have his leg and arm crushed mercilessly. It was only thanks to the astounding medical techniques of a Sannin that he had now fully recovered.

If Kabuto had stayed however, he would have born witness to the fact that after losing consciousness, Rock Lee had stood back up; had even prepared to continue to fight with pulverized muscle and bone while being entirely senseless. Rock Lee maintained a strength few alive possessed- the capability to internalize purpose beyond reasoning, dedication that bordered on instinct. As it was, any hint of this character trait, was missing from Kabuto's data cards.

He had only a second to glimpse the face of his inhibiter. She certainly did not seem pleased to see him. "You may be misinterpreting the intent of my action," was the first thing off Kabuto's lips. For the second time that day, Kabuto had his arm broken as if it was as easy as snapping a twig.


	7. Chapter 7

_Konoha, 6 days earlier…_

"Oh Gai, there is one other thing," began Tsunade. "This is your mission, make no mistake, but..." her tone seemed to shift with her eyes, checking left and right of the room as if to confirm completely that it really was just the two of them. "Given the sensitivity and danger of such a mission, I have made arrangements for an additional platoon of shinobi to be just inside the Land of Grass's border. There mission will be to back you up in case the enemy does in fact have some kind of ambush or quick reaction force waiting for your team. There presence is extremely classified Gai-but I believe their level will be appropriate to reinforce your efforts. Any questions?"

The Hokage's arched eyebrow implied that there shouldn't be. All Might Gai could do was raise his own monstrous brows in response. "No my lady, I believe I understand. Blinding her with one more monstrous shot of his gleaming teeth, the jonin spun on his heel and was gone.

Tsunade sighed in relief and closed her eyes. It would only be a minute before Shizune came in with another pile of paperwork to be signed, filed, and forgotten (the guilt of the betraying her master had effectively increased her efficiency at paperwork- an unfortunate side effect of the punishment). In the brief moment of solitude, Tsunade felt a sense of foreboding. She had done her best to play politics today, splitting hairs in order to make the best of a bad situation. She had betrayed her own instincts, and then given them a conciliation prize to placate her guilt. With any luck, the counselors and Danzo didn't know just how out of the loop she was really keeping them. Now, the only thing left to do was hope this new wager paid off.

Tsunade opened her eyes. They had threatened to take her off the table and she had responded by doubling down with two teams. She stood to win big, isolating the militant old coot and gaining a vital source of intelligence. She also now stood to lose eight shinobi. Sometimes, Tsunade truly loathed the position of Hokage.

_1 hour 18 minutes following the ambush at the bridge between Heaven and Earth- Grass Country- 13km from Land of Fire Border._

The blur streaking toward the border was a physical manifestation of hate, a being of pure malevolence with but one goal. _Damn you Gai,_ the Serpent Lord muttered inside his mind, _your antics have cost me the day! Kabuto had better be ready to leave. Leaving Sasuke alone all this time-_ the Sannin gritted his teeth in total displeasure. The loss of even a single training day now would be irreplaceable; the time for the ritual was fast approaching. The clenched teeth began to grind. _On top of that, I'm going to need to rest for a considerable time as well after that struggle. Had I not stopped him before he opened the 8__th__ gate…_ Here Orochimaru shut his mind down. An immortal did not speculate upon his potential demise; it was simply to insulting to one's pride.

The loss of the sword as well was turning his mind red with rage. The Long Sword of the Heavens, Kusanagi, was irreplaceable, and combined with the wasted day… His mindless charge would be stopped only when he crashed into something. There would be no guarantee now of anyone's safety- he was going to erase everything that was Might Gai, his students, his village, everything. He'd rip them apart for representing what they did. For reminding him of what they had taken. What was _his._

Deep within Orochimaru's psyche there might have been some old tie back to an actual reason; his displeasure might have been mirroring some original discontent of childhood now so long forgotten. But if there was a connection, he would have been the last one aware of it.

He was so caught in his own hate-fueled musings that the leader of the Sound was barely able to pinpoint the location of his chosen prey. _There you are!_ His arrival leap was a release of sick black chakra that scarred and flattened the earth in a three meter radius. _How many are there?!_ The rage and surprise were boiling just beneath the Snake's skin, causing his eyes to bulge and teeth to gnash. _None of these are Gai's students!_

_Twelve minutes before,_

To be sure, Kabuto was in a precarious position. His broken arm had been the beginning of what became a sudden vicious beating from several apparently enraged ninja that had left him bloodied, bruised, and considerably less cognizant of his surroundings. Only after suddenly being encircled in apparently living restraints did the medic-nin realize that most of his attackers had been the same individual.

"Naruto! Naruto! Stop pummeling him so I can secure him! Jeez!" The voice sounded like it preferred to be smooth and reasonable most of the time and not this wound up and hurried.

_You've got to be kidding me?!_ Kabuto raged when the blood ceased flowing into his eyes. The restraints were made of wood that was growing straight out of the ground, freezing his position in a snapshot of a fall. His left knee was bent and just failing to touch the ground held in place by the living restraints that had snaked around his limbs. His right arm and been immobilized flat against his body while his broken left stuck out at a more gruesome angle, his arm somewhat backwards and fist pointing out. He wouldn't be able to heal it properly until free of the mokton technique. _The First's secret jutsut? Who am I dealing with? How did they know where to find us?_ Kabuto's thoughts were racing again, searching for answers, but whether they had been dislodged by the blows or lost in his panic and rage, Kabuto just couldn't find them.

_Twenty minutes before._

"Naruto would you slow down!" Tenzo hated yelling. Not only was it not in his nature, it violated several principals of being a shinobi- namely stealth. It was slightly ironic that the whole trouble had started with such a loud explosion in the direction of the bridge. Than Uzumaki Naruto had exclaimed he couldn't wait any longer and gone charging off toward the sound. Tenzo's medic-nin had been right behind him, but whether it was to rein her friend in or join him in his headlong charge the team leader couldn't say.

That had left him with just the silent, young ANBU spook staring deadpan at him. Tenzo hated the feel of the creep's eyes' on him. _If only I had taken off with them as well, _the jonin mourned internally;despite the effort he'd put into developing some limited sense of teamwork between his knew charges, the black ops captain was sure that Naruto still hated the emotionless replacement. _No time to worry about that now._

"Sai! Get above the tree line and see what's going on! I'm going after Naruto and Sakura!"

With a chakra burst "Captain Yamato" sped after his two rogue charges, periphery vision just catching the ink bird leap off the scroll the young nin had scrawled upon.

_Split-second artistic rendering with chakra infused ink, what other uncanny abilities are you capable of?_ Tenzo did not have time to ponder as he closed the gap with Sakura.

She was going all out, trying to match the pace of her blonde haired friend, but something more than chakra was driving the knuckle-headed ninja, now at least one hundred meters ahead and moving over the branches on all fours. Tenzo hated the situation. They had been acting as reinforcements for Team Gai on a classified S rank mission. One team infiltrating the Land of Grass to potentially ambush an Akatsuki spy was a hazardous mission, but the incurred risk of placing another team so close by…

Tenzo didn't like being the added incurred risk, he would have preferred to have been the main effort. He had an inkling that Lady Fifth would have preferred it that way too. And as much as he had disliked being sidelined, he knew Kakashi's wards downright hated it. Add into the mix a potential spy from Danzo's (supposedly defunct) Root organization that no one liked, and Tenzo was surprised his team hadn't broken down sooner. Now they were split up, screaming through the forest toward God only knew what without having first made contact with the main effort. This had disaster written all over it. Vainly Tenzo tried again to exercise some control over the situation. "Naru-"

Naruto heard his captain call out for him to slow down. Heard and didn't care. _I should be there already! Don't tell me to slow down Captain!_ He would have spat the response back if it hadn't meant wasting air. He could also feel the Fox's chakra rising up and shooting through all his limbs- felt that and didn't care. Whatever got him closer to the action faster was just fine. _Damnit granny! Keeping us back. Letting Lee and his team take the lead! You know only I can do this!!_ Deep inside, the Fox snickered.

"Naruto, please!" That was Sakura. For a moment, Naruto felt a slight twinge of remorse for moving out so suddenly, _I should have warned her_. The regret began to take life in his words. Turning his head back the young ninja could barely see the pink haired kunoichi trying to keep up with him. "Sorry Sakura, I'v-_OOOF!_"

The collision could have been more disastrous than it was. Naruto had had all four limbs firmly planted on the branch, and as such when the green clad figure slammed head-on into him he had plenty of extremities available to save himself with. Lacking anything remotely close to what a shinobi would consider "coordination," Naruto had to make use of every one. One hand caught the sudden offender, the other flailed helplessly in the air as the force of the collision pushed the surprised ninja free of the branch.

"Whaaa!" Naruto's yelp sounded as he felt himself going headfirst vertical toward the ground. Hooking his left leg around the branch with his heel, he retained just enough concentration to flood his right foot with an almost instinctual balance of chakra, sticking firmly to the bark. In this precarious position, the young jinkurri came face to face with one of his greatest opponents. "Bushy Brows? Hey, Bushy Brows…"

He was still in his precarious position when Sakura and Captain Yamato landed opposite of him on a nearby branch.

"Sakura!" he began as he pulled himself up finally, dragging the unconscious chunnin with him, "Its Bushy Brows! I think he hit his…" Sakura was beside him on the branch in an instant, examining their injured comrade.

Sakura knew Lee was in bad shape without Naruto even having to speak. For one thing, he was standing while unconscious. She had only seen this behavior in him once before, and she knew exactly what kind of treatment had been required to restore him then. Second, one pupil was massively dilated while the other was shrunk to a pinprick. That meant concussion. A bad one. And third, Lee was bleeding out a serious gash in his scalp.

"Naruto, help me lay him down," Sakura's voice was full of concern and authority as she began to pool chakra into her finger tips. "Naruto did you-,"

"I'm tryin Sakura , he just.. won't." Naruto's tugs had become incredibly more insistent on the completely dead faced chunnin, but Lee's legs refused to unlock; the taijutsu master stood as still as a statue as Naruto pulled futilely.

"Here, let me-" Sakura never had a chance to finish her sentence, the second her hand brushed Rock Lee's skull it was like a trigger was pulled, and Rock Lee was off like a shot again.

"He's heading back the way he came!" Naruto blurted out the obvious as he shot past his companions in hot pursuit. "Naruto wait! Naruto!" Sakura's cries however either failed to reach the Leaf-nin or failed to register as his orange jumpsuit was quickly lost from sight amongst the foliage.

"Wait Sakura!" Tenzo spoke up just as the kunoichi was about to launch her own pursuit of her two senseless friends.

"But Captain Yamato, Lee's hurt! And Naruto-"

"Sai's located Lee's likely destination. It seems he's so delirious he was just zigzagging through the woods! Follow me and will beat them there." The captain's voice was cool and quick, his eyes steady and reassuring, yet Tenzo could see only a small part of Sakura's doubt leave her eyes. "Trust me, Lee's teammates seem to be in worse shape."

That lie snapped the medic-nin's attention back to the mission, and Tenzo felt a brief moment of relief and guilt as he saw Sakura's eyes suddenly fill with purpose. In truth he had no idea just what the state of Lee's comrades were, but he would be damned if any more subordinates ran off on him. "Quickly than captain, let's not waste time."

Tenzo would have smiled if the situation weren't so dire. _Kakashi did train some at least one serious shinobi after all._

Turning at roughly a fifteen degree angle from the path Naruto was chasing Lee, Tenzo adjusted his throat mike to contact his aerial observer once more. "Give me the current location of the target again Sai," he whispered low into the radio. A second later, two shinobi bounded off toward their comrades.

The impassive shinobi hovered above the tree-line watching the progress of his counterparts via the shaking of the tree leaves. The barely functioning Lee and (most likely) Naruto, were headed back to the point of origin in the same blind zigzag pattern Gai's protégé had made in an apparent attempt to locate reinforcements. The waving branches moving in a straight line no doubt signaled the more competent movements of Captain Yamato and the Haruno girl. The boy with no name wondered what they would find.

He would time his arrival at the likely point of conflict (a location approximately 6 kilometers away) with the last team to arrive. He had been lucky. It seemed that the apparently oblivious Lee's travels had mapped a clear (albeit nonlinear) path of still shaking trees to his point of origin. _With any luck_, the ninja known as Sai calculated, _Orochimaru will be headed that way to._ _Whatever had happened in the vast crater several dozen kilometers to the north is over_. _I must fulfill my mission._

Naruto had no idea how Lee was navigating, let alone keeping balance at this point. Each jump was a brutal launch off one leg ending with a precarious landing on the other, only to thrust off again with the alternate, again in a seemingly completely random direction. "Bushy Brows, where are we going!!' Naruto yelled futilely at his unconscious guide. Wherever it was, they were going there fast. Naruto really hoped it wasn't nowhere. Just as he was about to risk stopping the insane escapade with force, the taijutsu specialist braked on a branch, seemed to look down… and then fell head first toward the ground.

Naruto didn't even have time to call out his friend's nickname as he leapt down after him. _I'm to far away!_ Naruto realized as he saw the now completely unconscious Lee plummet downward. A sudden white and black blur shot out suddenly from a pile of leaves and twigs then, a sudden streak that signaled both intent and desperation. Naruto's crash landing was only a second behind Neji's breaking the fall of his teammate.

The fact that Neji wasn't even bothering to push Lee's inert body off his own alerted Naruto that something was really wrong with the jonin. No self respecting Hyugga would tolerate such an undignified position willingly.

"Neji, hang on…" Naruto pulled Lee's still frame off his counterpart and got a good look at the heavily breathing jonin.

_Exhausted,_ was the word that flashed through the genin's mind as he took stock of Neji Hyugga's state. The normally immaculate black hair was tangled with twigs and leaves, mementos of his prior hiding spot, the white tunic soaked through with sweat and besmirched brown in dirt. If it was possible the pale skin had become even more ghostly in color. A medic-nin might have suspected that Neji had actually sustained a minor heart attack. Naruto knew only that his friend was in dire straights.

"Neji, you and Lee.. What hap-"

"Forget about that for now! Go help Tenten!" The response was a desperate snap that left the speaker breathless. Neji didn't know how he had energy left to speak, it had taken everything he had had a moment before to prevent Lee from cracking his skull open on the forest floor; now every action felt like a step closer to death. Moving on one leg would have been infuriating if it wasn't so exhausting at the moment. As it was, Neji found just enough strength to lift one hand and point feebly in the direction his eyes were begging Naruto to travel.

"Neji," Naruto's iteration of his friend's name was filled with concern and respect. Even now, Neji Hyuuga was still risking his life to protect his teammates. Naruto's eyes grew angry and hard. He was going to hurt whoever had done this to Lee and Neji; whoever was still apparently threatening Tenten. Be they Akatsuki, or Sound-nin, or Grass, someone was going to pay. No one got away with hurting Naruto Uzumaki's friends. They were just too important. With a growl, the demon-child shot away from his two injured companions, his chakra nearly boiling over out of his skin.

Neji let his hand finally drop and rolled his head to the left where Naruto had flopped Lee next to him. Rock Lee's eyes had finally closed but he was still breathing. What's more, Lee's simply features now bore a strangely curious half-smirk. The shallow cut across his nose received from Kabuto only made him look more ridiculous. The normally reserved Hyugga would have laughed if he had actually had the energy. _Yes Lee, I do believe we have time to finally relax. Naruto's here now._ Neji Hyugga felt a small smile on his own lips as his eyelids began to drift shut.


	8. Chapter 8

"Lord Orochimaru!" the cry of his master's name sounded pathetic, even in his own ears, but Kabuto could do nothing for it. Those not paying close attention to it might have believed it tainted, the squall of a weakling begging for help, but such analysis would lack full understanding. Kabuto was not concerned about his own safety- he was concerned for his master's. As it was, no one even seemed to be paying even slight attention to the beaten and immobilized shinobi.

The fight with Gai had clearly taken a lot out of his master's considerable strength and defenses. The immortality jutsu had several side effects, notably a massive increase in resilience, chakra, and regeneration. Those were the _positive _side effects. Kabuto knew better than most that every jutsu came with a cost. Most of the time it was merely chakra; the more powerful the technique the more chakra sacrificed. However, in such a complicated jutsu involving the transference of an individual's very _being_ into another, well the host had best be exceptionally stromg to even survive_._ _And over time…_

Kabuto didn't need his medical training to see that the host body of Orochimaru was in an utter state of rejection. The form of the rogue Sannin was breathing hard in jagged raggedy gulps. The pale skin was slick with sweat and the serpentine eyes bloodshot and unfocused. Kabuto hadn't seen his master in such a state since he had been cursed by Saratobi. _The host's network has reached its limit! If this goes on any longer…_ Kabuto had seen the serpent's true scales twice now, but to see the miraculous abomination emerge here would be disastrous to his master's long term plans. Kabuto tried to will his lord out of danger. Tried to plead with his eyes for his master to leave. Orochimaru didn't even give him the slightest twitch of an eye.

"_Where are they?!"_ Orochimaru spat venomously at the line of shinobi before him. Kabuto felt his hope die quietly inside as he observed the hideous chakra of the Nine Tales start to rise from within its furious vessel. The sound-nin suddenly had a strange feeling he was about to lose what little family he had.

Sakura hated Orochimaru. It was a hate that had sat and simmered since she had first seen the monster three years before during her first chunnin exam. When he had hurt and scarred the ones who had been most precious to her. It had turned cold then; when he seduced Sasuke away from the very village that was his home, when he had cut her off from him and severed his hope in honest strength. Tempered by the determination to win back the one she'd lost from the abomination, it had expanded and become something pure and blunt. And now… With this threatening creature standing before her, she felt the honest hate like a physical warhammer in her fists. Hate to smash and crush and relentlessly drive the source of pain into the ground. Her hate was not a shriek but a silent battle cry.

She was more than aware that Naruto's hatred was dwarfing hers, as it had apparently become an actual living thing. As soon as she had stabilized Tenten Captain Yamato had ordered the wounded kunoichi rushed to the rear. Sai had radioed a warning that something was closing on them fast and violent. That had set the team into motion, Sai creating an ink beast and stretcher to pull the nearly catatonic Tenten back in the direction of her fellow teammates. Sakura had been about to follow except the captain had given an explicit order: everyone was to stand fast. If it was the Sannin, it would take every available ninja to stop him. Treating the injured now could very well be everyone's death sentence. So they had stood in battle formation, Sai on the far right, her on the left, and Naruto in the center. Behind them, Captain Yamato stood two meters back, reading to provide both support, and to guard their captured quarry.

Then the demon's chakra had erupted. It was strange. Sakura was sure there was noise, but suddenly it was as silent as a tomb in the forest. She had turned to look at Naruto, but she could barely see him. A hurricane of red had engulfed an animal to her right, had scarred the ground itself. She glanced behind her. The Captain's mouth was moving, but she couldn't hear his orders- his face was contorted, perhaps concern, perhaps uncertainty- _who is he talking to?_ Behind him the prisoner, wore an expression unlike any other she had ever seen a human make. _His eyes are terrified, but he's smiling?_ Sakura felt suddenly sure of her conclusion that there was something truly warped living inside the form of Yakushi Kabuto.

As she glanced back toward the front she thought she could hear faint noises, perhaps words lost on the wind. Names being growled over gravel. _Naruto?_ Sakura didn't know who else it could be. "_Nejee, Bussh-hy, brows, TehTeh….__Sasuke."_ Sakura didn't even let her eyes register the monster that had subsumed the young boy she had placed so many burdens on. Instead she looked at the monster in front of her. The one who was responsible for the creation of the others. Orochimaru, to her surprise, had his jaded eyes fixed insanely on the hellish manifestation to her right. She saw his lips move, forming a one word response to its growls. "_So?"_

_This is happening too fast._ Then the world exploded white for Sakura. She swung her head around toward the source, but the brain wasn't fast enough to process the image. A wall of chakra, brilliant and expanding, had slammed her aside like a leaf on the wind. A red blur was leaping forward, a black clad form was tossed skyward by the force of the blast, and something solid and unyielding collided with the young girl's spine, fracturing it in two places. Her hearing returned then for the first time in seconds. A roar filled her ears, the likes of which no natural beast on the planet had a hope of mimicking. In terror and pain, Sakura Haruno blacked out, only vaguely aware of the mad laughter mixing with the screams.

Tenzo saw the horrible event in its entirety. He had been warned by two of the Three Legends that rage was the trigger. That Naruto could become something truly terrible if he wasn't on guard. _But this fast?!_ He had been flush with the Nine Tails chakra when he had shown up late and beaten Kabuto bloody. _Then, having seen Orochimaru just once… _

Tenzo's mind would have suspected several causes if he had time to think instead of dodging the violent chakra explosion that had so suddenly erupted. He had tried to warn Sakura and Sai, but it had seemed too late… Sai had tried to throw himself skyward but had still caught a majority of the blast. Sakura had taken the full effect-_ was she even paying attention?!_

He had no idea where the Naruto-thing and the Lord of Sound were now. The explosion had shot both away like arrows through the woods. Nor did he have any idea where the captive traitor was either; unable to dodge the blast do to his restraints, Tenzo was forced to consider the possibility that the hard one prize might be lost.

_Seeing his friends hurt, it acted like a primer, like flooding an appendage with ultra dense chakra. Orochimaru was the spark that set it off!_

The realization hit him as hard as the tree trunk he connected with halting his trip backward. Trees had been knocked over and scattered about as a child might scatter twigs. There was no sign of anyone. Not his enemies, not his team, _not anyone. _A truly terrible fear he had felt only twice before wound itself around his heart. _Please God, let them be okay._

He heard another roar then, more distant, but far louder than the first. _Oh God, if he's gone into a four tailed state…_ Tenzo knew that the others might be hurt, might be dying and in need of help, that his prisoner might even be escaping, but if he didn't act now, the consequences of a loose Kyuubi would be damning.

Several hand signs later, the black ops captain was speeding toward the direction he knew to be the most dangerous.

The ninja known as Sai had observed the altercation between Uzumaki and the Sannin from quite a ways back. Had watched his ink clone get fifteen meters in the air before it was splattered by a wave of chakra he had never imagined a shinobi could produce. Had waited for the debris to stop falling and then leapt skyward off the branch he'd been perched on since sending the ink clone in his place some minutes before. _Perfect, with any luck, the Captain will assume I was killed in the blast and buried amongst the debris. Now my mission can commence._ His ink animal, a hawk, leapt from the scroll he had prepared ahead of time, forming the perfect transport to speed him toward this new conflict. _Now my true mission can begin._

Naruto Uzumaki could not think. His mind had frozen, crystallized, and now even his eyes were no longer his. In his place, The Fox raged. _WHY CAN'T I KILL IT!!_ Its arm had been ripped off, it had been bit and scarred in a dozen places- the Kyuubi had even latched onto it with both claws and beaten the scaly white serpent like a ragdoll against a rock until its bones should have been pulverized and its skin turned to ash from the hateful chakra.

Yet still the infernal nuisance persisted. It had even struck him, _With Its Fist!_ That had just been insulting. Yet the miniature monster knew one thing- this nuisance was desperately trying to get away. These were not the attacks of an equal trying to hold its own, but of a cornered animal looking for a way out. And it was slowing down. The Kyuubi roared in utter delight. _SOOOON!!!_ He saw the fear in the snake's eyes, saw the weakness. With a leap, the four tailed beast of chakra and blood pounced on its prey once more.

Tenzo saw his chance and took it. He had maneuvered around the newly created crater so that he was now facing the front of the four-tailed menance- it was the only way to keep track of both opponents at this rate. Hiding behind some scatterd depris of stone and fallent timber, Tenzo realized the time had come to make a choice.

The issue was not clear cut, black and white. Naruto was pushing Orochimaru, that much was clear. The snake lord had engaged for a time but was looking for an escape route. Testing the waters with his jutsu had only revealed that the monster that had enveloped the once over-anxious shinobi was lacking in vulnerabilities. And something was wrong with Orochimaru. His speed was far below what Tenzo would have expected from one of the Legendary Three, and while clearly resilient to the attacks, the proud monster seemed to be desperate to avoid any more.

The Four-Tailed Kyuubi was fixated by its prey. It was lost in the chase, now desperate to break the seemingly unbreakable annoyance. That was perfect for Tenzo. As much as he'd love to see perhaps the gravest threat to the Leaf Village finished off, he had no idea how he was going to get the beast to hold still if it wasn't focused on one point. And if he let Naruto get away in this state… _A loose Kyuubi is too terrifying to contemplate._ So as the red monster had pounced- so did the black operations captain. _Kakuan's Tenth Edict!_

The wood restraints struck from all sides, dragons made of the very stuff of creation biting down and bleeding off the chakra shell that incased his subordinate- Orochimaru's prone frame was spared contact with the beast by mere millimeters. The Kyuubi howled as it fought to retain its hold in the physical world. The beast cast about looking for an exit amidst the wooden pillars, and in its moment of indecision, Tenzo leapt.

His spring from amidst the debris of the new crater occurred in the same moment that the Snake Lord timed his escape- two parallel streaks heading in opposite directions. Tenzo snapped his eyes down for just an instant to observe the once great ninjutsu master as he fled the encounter. The movement was instinctual really. Tenzo's self preservation had noted a movement and was merely trying to ascertain its threat level. It was chance that, just like Neji, he ended up for a moment eye to eye with the Legend. Through all the hate, madness, even fear, Tenzo caught the hint of something more. _Recognition?_

There was no time to ponder that any further as the team leader slammed his chakra fused palm into the beast's chest, felt it link with the crystal somewhere deep within the burning red shroud, and for the first moment since the catastrophe had begun, Tenzo let himself hope.

_Several kilometers south, same time._

Neji's eyes snapped open at the sound of the roar. He remembered drifting off peacefully, full of hope and reassurance. The roar had disrupted all that, the meditative balance had been lost. Neji glanced quickly around his surroundings. _Fool! Drifting off like that! There was no one here to guard us!_ Neji cursed himself for stupidity, ignoring the fact that he had had no real choice in the matter as to when his body shut down.

Lee was still unconscious to his left, albeit the smile was missing- in its place a crumpled frown. To his right… _Oh thank God!_ Tenten was sitting up on a strange ink black stretcher, linked to perhaps the weirdest animal Neji had ever seen. She had had the bottom of her tunic cut off at the midriff, what looked to have been done by a surgical knife. _She couldn't have done that herself._ Her attention was currently focused on rolling a cotton bandage wrap around her exposed skin, _A precautionary measure?_

"Tenten," Neji croaked out, and his teammate's eyes flew up from her work. She looked like hell. Her face was slightly bruised on the left side (_had she been struck, did she fall?)_ one of her normally perfect hair buns had actually come undone, and at the corners of her mouth was the crust of what appeared to be bile she had not bothered to wipe away. Her eyes full of worry suddenly filled with relief- which she than quickly hid behind a mask of anger.

"Why were you asleep! Who was guarding you!"

Neji was not about to let his friend outdo him feigning superiority. "Don't lecture me Te-_Cwhoff!!"_ Choking up blood quickly ended the charade for both of them. "Jeez, Neji, don't try to sit up!" Tenten leaned in to help ease him back down, only to suddenly wince and stagger herself, one hand flying toward her now mummified belly. Neji caught the hand movement even as she tried to play it off. "You hurt?" he wheezed.

"Not too bad anymore. Sakura patched me up. Sakura…" Tenten suddenly turned her head toward the direction of the howl that had broken the Hyuuga's rest. It had gone suddenly quite. Deathly so. The wind that had been blowing earlier that day was no longer present, and the forest had grown horrendously still.

Several minutes passed. Then several more. Tenten got up carefully off her stretcher. Neji finally found the strength to prop himself up against a tree. Tenten bit her lower lip in frustration, glancing first at her comrades, than back in direction of where she had last seen their backup.

"Don't worry Tenten, will come with you."

Both Neji and Tenten shot glances back in surprise at a suddenly very conscious Rock Lee. He grinned back at them from the ground, looking at them with slightly unfocused, upside-down eyes. "Gai-sensei must have won by now."


	9. Chapter 9

Severing the enemy's head was easier than expected. Low on chakra and blood there had always been one motivation Kabuto could rely on. Rage. The kyuubi's explosion had struck him head-on, it had only been his preparatory healing capabilities which had preserved his pathetic existence. As it was now, maneuvering through the wreckage of the forest in his ripped clothes and wearing his final pair of spectacles, he suspected he knew what a disaster survivor felt like when picking through the remains of their life. Kabuto did not like it. So when he had spotted Uzumaki's team leader (_where was Kakashi these days?_) crouched low amongst several fallen tree limbs, Kabuto still had plenty of energy to burn off.

It had been easier than basic surgery. With his back turned, the jonin's only warning was a sudden change in air pressure as Kabuto used a sudden chakra enhanced jump to close the fifteen meter distance between them. His target's head had snapped up in surprise, perfecting the medic nin's point of aim_. _Striking in-between the third and fourth cervical vertebrae was something Kabuto could have done in his sleep. He felt the chakra blade incasing his hand slice through the epidermis, felt the cartilage and spinal nerves severe, saw the cranium lift and break free of the main body. The skull had picked up a little rotational force, and Kabuto felt smug satisfaction knowing that he would still catch a glimpse of the surprise on his enemy's face without even dirtying his hands.

To his disappointment he was greeted not by a shocked expression, but by wooden one. Literally. The face, the once black hair, even the metal cheek and forehead protector had become a coarse tree bark. Kabuto glanced angrily away toward the body which still maintained its rigid pose kneeling. _No loss of muscle control because there was no muscle! _Kabuto kicked savagely out at it, knocking the headless carving over in frustration. "Oh my."

_Clunk!._ The wooden skull had landed somewhere, but Kabuto was only vaguely aware of this. His eyes were riveted on a terrible dilemma in front of him. Kabuto felt the weird half smile he so often wore creep again unto his face. A moment before obscured by the clone's headless body, was the broken form of Sakura Haruno.

Orochimaru moved swiftly through the woods away from the beast, away from the threats. _I must rest. I mustn't use anymore jutsus._ Rage had turned to self preservation in the monster-once-man, and now that to was shifting back to his more natural arrogance. _It was a good thing I had the forethought to implant the First's genes into those babes. You never know how long it takes for a good experiment to bear fruit._

The Snake cut its speed at the river. _This is close enough. I'm not being followed…_ Orochimaru gripped his chest then. Felt the need to throw up. Or explode. Or both. He nearly fell over, only to catch himself at the last second. _Not now! ITS NOT TIME NOW!_ Slowly, the monster felt the pain recede deep inside. "Lord Orochimaru," the voice was young and calm, and it set the snake lord on edge, _I was completely unaware of his presence! How long have I been followed!_

"Lord Orochimaru, I am an envoy of Lord Dan-" The ink clone stopped speaking as Orochimaru plunged a cobra from his sleeve into the earth and the hidden nin below. Through the reptile Orochimaru felt the nameless boy's surprise, felt his throat crush in the jaws of the serpent, felt the blood well up and mix with the soil. As the source of its chakra dried up, the ink clone's bonds dissolved back into its native components and further saturated the soil. Orochimaru didn't even turn around. The murder did little to ease the monster's rage.

"Any other day, any other day…" muttered the Snake Sannin as he stumbled slowly back toward his lair. _Any other day it might have been entertaining…_

Tenzo had never considered himself lucky. He was a hard worker, diligent, dedicated and professional. Luck had nothing to do with his success. Except today he had been incredibly lucky. The burns that covered Naruto's flesh were as red as the glowing chakra that had made up the beast. _God only knows how much more damage it could have done to you. The fact that you can move in that state, that your even still alive…_ Tenzo had no answer for it. Except that maybe Naruto Uzumaki was stronger by himself than anyone had suspected.

Gazing about the massive crater Tenzo couldn't help but wonder if anything else could go wrong this day. Pursuing Orochimaru was out of the question now. He had to get Naruto to a medic as fast as possible, and the closest one might even be in need of one herself. Tenzo hit his throat mike. "Any luck finding the team?"

There wasn't even static on his line. That meant the jutsu holding the clone in place had been disrupted. A clone that had all his speed, skill, and experience. An accident was highly unlikely. Tenzo glanced down at the unconscious genin. He didn't want to touch him for fear of aggravating the injuries, but wasting more chakra on another clone would be dangerous. "Sorry Uzumaki, you'll be coming with me."

Gently he scooped the fallen boy up in his arms, carefully trying to avoid the exposed burns. Then, as quickly as he dared, the captain sped back in the direction he had come from. He prayed silently then. Prayed that it wasn't as bad as he feared. Odds were it was. Tenzo had never considered himself lucky.

He did these things for the sake of duality. He did them because he could_. Only humans could do these things. Changing one's nature on a whim. Finding the new self_. Kabuto was a child lost in an infinite identity crisis. But rather than be broken by it, he embraced it. He had no real sympathy for his patient. He found it amusing in fact that it was her own friend who had hurt her. _In the course of trying to save someone dear to them both no less._ This was merely for his own sake, his own gratification. He felt independent. Powerful.

_I made this decision._

The wounds were grievous to be sure. The girl would have been dead in the next several minutes if no one had shown up to treat her. Normally, it would have taken a full medical team with years of experience to just stabilize her. Or a Sannin. _Or me_. Kabuto was not the equal of the Lady Tsunade. But he was close enough. The girl began to moan as her nerves reconnected and she began to feel pain again. Kabuto placed one hand gently over her forehead and shot three small needles of chakra through her brain into her pituitary gland. Her contorted features relaxed.

_Almost done. _A few more nerve bundles to tie together, a little more internal bleeding to stop. Kabuto's chakra gave out then and he found himself rolling out of his crouch away from his patient onto his forearms and knees. _Can't go on. Can-_ He hadn't felt this bad in a long time. The last time he had been this drained… Kabuto knew he had to leave- _Now!_ _Lord Orochimaru is waiting for you out there! You've got more work ahead of you if he's pushed himself too far._

Slowly, he pushed himself to his knees. Than to his feet. He took a step. Then he took another, moving away from the fallen kunoichi. He stopped then, turned around to gaze at his handiwork. _She will live because I decided. And she'll have to deal with the fact that Naruto nearly killed her and left her to die. Have to deal with the fact that it was me who saved her. She'll wonder why, and there won't be any good answers._

The strange smile was back. And he couldn't resist. A few strands of pink were out of place across her forehead. He would leave her as perfect as he could. Kabuto stumbled the few steps back toward her and leaned down to brush the offending strands in line.

_ThudThudThud!THunk! _Kabuto reeled backwards, his blood spraying over the sleeping patient in a great curtain, disfiguring the angelic scene he had arranged. His glasses to were be speckled red, the world now horribly unclear. _Arteries! She's hit my- _Kabuto didn't feel his landing, the pain in his chest far too overpowering. He struggled to sit up, one hand used as a prop, the other to remove blood splattered lenses.

The world came suddenly clear. Two figures, _wait no three?_ were standing several meters just inside the clearing the kyuubi had created when it had broke loose. Kabuto knew he should probably smile. Should say some cryptic last words. Nothing came to mind. And suddenly, he didn't feel like smiling. A few seconds later he didn't feel anything at all.

"You saved her."

Lee was having a hard time focusing, mainly he was concentrating on keeping Neji on his back and putting one foot in front of the other, but when he had heard Tenten gasp at the start of the clearing, his head had moved up. There was their opponent in torn purple reaching down toward an unconscious victim, a dangerous smirk set on his lips. That devil's grin was the last thing Lee remembered before the world had suddenly gone black. Even at this distance he could see it perched on the fiend's lips. Lee could only associate that look now with one action- diabolical harm. Apparently, that was the same association Tenten made.

Lee hadn't even realized she had pulled a scroll, had summoned kunai. He had been about to scream Sakura's name when his partner had released her weaponry. The fixated villain never stood a chance. Struck in four vital spots, Lee had thought he was hallucinating when the blades seemed to appear from nowhere in Kabuto's chest. The geyser of blood would have been disgusting if Lee had had an ounce more reasoning power in his damaged skull. As it was, all he could do was repeat again. "You saved her."

Neji finally stirred, lifting his forehead of Lee's shoulder long enough to take in the scene. "Naruto," he muttered as his head dropped down again, "did you?"

Lee turned his head slowly toward Tenten, if he moved it too quickly he would become so disoriented and fallen over; thus, it took him several seconds to change his point of view. Her lips were still set in a snarl and her eyes still locked on the fallen target when he finally registered her features. "Please stop making that face Tenten." The request was child-like. When her expression still didn't change Lee further offered, "I don't think he's getting up to see it."

The ferocious mask slipped away and Lee again recognized the young girl who was his teammate. She started to move forward then, further into the clearing, heading toward the medic who had so recently saved her as well. Lee, at first tried to track her with his vision, but nearly tripped and fell, jostling his teammate terribly on his back. "Easy Lee," Sorry Neji,"

the warning and the apology overlapped in the same instant. Tenten was already several meters in front of them, getting closer to Sakura at a faster rate.

"Lee," Neji whispered.

"Yes?" Lee whispered back in a half-conscious tone.

"If… If you tell anyone I let you carry me like this-I'll kill you."

"okay."

Neji felt like crying. Not for his sake, but for Lee's. The head injury must have been severe if Lee didn't feel like discussing why he shouldn't feel ashamed for being carried in such a ridiculous manner. _How are you doing it Lee? You shouldn't be able to walk, let alone carry another individual._ The slow pace meant that Tenten had almost roused Sakura by the time Lee and Neji made it by their side.

Tenten had been wiping the blood off the unconscious girl's face with her sleave, staining the white fabric further red. The action must have disturbed the young medic-nin's endorphin induced slumber. Her eyes fluttered and suddenly flew open. "Naru-Ooow!" the name transitioned into a low gasp of pain.

"Thank God your not badly hurt," Tenten muttered, _if we had lost our medic-nin.._. Sakura glanced around the wreckage, having no idea how the forest had somehow moved back. "What happened?"

"Tenten saved you," stated Rock Lee in a very matter of fact way.

"What?"

"Oh, just ignore him, he's out of it," brushed aside the weapons mistress. "But we were going to ask you the same question. Do you remember what happened?"

Sakura's emerald eyes scanned the devastation again. This time she noted the upturned sandals and prone form of a figure in rags of lavender stained crimson. She glanced back at Tenten who returned her stare. "No, I don't remember. Maybe Orochimaru used some kind of jutsu or…"

"No," came the hard reply of a new voice at the edge of the field. "It was Naruto."

"Captain Yamato," Sakura greeted as Tenten helped her shakily to her feet.

"How did Naruto-" than she saw the burden the team leader carried in her arms. She started crying almost immediately as he walked toward her. Tenzo placed the shinobi at the poor girl's feet and then turned toward the remains of Gai's team. "Where's your captain?"

Lee looked back at Tenzo confused. "He's not with you?"


	10. Conclusion

_Konoha, six days later._

The morgue was never a place Tsunade enjoyed visiting. It had nothing to do with the memories of identifying her brother's corpse so many years before (although that certainly didn't help much). It was the fact that a morgue was a place where a doctor was forced to place their failures. A display case where another could look and figure out just where you had gone wrong.

Tsunade did not enjoy being here. Especially now when it was just her and the dead. She had just dismissed Shizune and Tenzo. The autopsy results had been briefed, as well as a short description of the events leading up to the moment of the enemy's termination. She would have to wait for more complete details; that would be once the ANBU had fully debriefed Tenten, and Neji, Lee, and Naruto were released from intensive care.

_Of all the ninja we lost, we could only bring back you huh?_ she cursed angrily. The cadavear ignored her. There had been no sign of Danzo's stooge, Tenzo suspected that he had been killed by falling debris and buried somewhere in the forest. The teams had been in desperate need of further medical support (Sakura's weakened condition had only allowed her to do so much) and there was no time to search for his remains as well.

One thing was certain, the daimyos in the Land of Grass were sure to have there fair share of questions when they found the Leaf headband on that body. _We'll have to have some missing-nin story fabricated when they come asking_.

Tsunade wanted to curse again. The shear amount of devastation to that region was going to raise a lot bigger questions as well. _Hopefully none of the other Five find out soon. If they suspect were employing a jinchuriki as an offensive weapon, or testing it somehow…_ She knew the other kages wouldn't believe the truth even if she was stupid enough to tell it to them.

She stopped worrying about the political fallout for a moment. She looked down at the corpse one more time. She really had not needed Shizune to tell her the cause of death, "Right and left coronary arteries punctured, cause of death: shock and massive blood loss." She recited merely what she saw as any good first year medical student would. The funny thing was, they'd probably learn more from him in this condition then if they had taken him alive. Compounds in cells would tell them what he'd eaten, they could trace that back to the plants and animals in the region. Exotic drugs had unique compounds. Those could be traced as well. "You'll talk yet Yakushi, don't think you got away." Tsunade hated lying to herself.

She let the sheet drop back over him, hiding his empty eyes and slightly open mouth again from view. _You weren't worth the wager you bastard! _The Hokage killed the overhead lamp and left the dead to themselves. The living had too many things to worry about. _Like how Sakura had survived for example. Or what they were going to tell Naruto about what had happened. Or how to handle Might Gai's funeral arrangements.._. The Hokage let her face drop in the hallway.Alone, and with only the dead nearby she cursed again. She had always been a terrible gambler.

_Six hours later_

"Lady Tsunade, they've-!" the Hokage looked up from the manifest she had been flipping through for the last hour and not really reading. "Left, I know Shizune don't worry."

"But if they run into Orochi-"

"They won't, he'll have left the area by now. Knowing him, he's far too paranoid about being uncovered while not at the top of his game." Tsunade felt a frown emerge and quickly checked it before it spread. Just thinking about her former teammate made her want to wretch.

She could see the concern in Shizune's eyes, _she really is a great doctor, always trying to protect others, keep them from harm._

"They won't be gone long anyway," the Hokage let her gaze return to the parchment. "Remember who they trained under. And anyway, I sent a chaperone."

_Two days later, Land of Grass_

Kakashi had no idea what he was doing here at the edge of a massive crater, in a foreign country, nearly out of breath, in the dead of night. _Gai, I suppose this is revenge for all those competitions you lost._ To tell the truth, dodging the Grass-nin had been fairly easy. It seemed they had either quickly conducted their investigation, or it simply had yet to begin. _After all, if they suspect Orochimaru's involvement, they might not want to ask too many questions._ That was fine by Kakashi, it meant one less international incident to deal with.

In truth, Kakashi did have a reason for volunteering to go with them. They had been fairly decent at dodging their security details in the hospital, but Kakashi had caught wind of their little plan in passing while he was being released. And he had had a feeling… _At the very least, I've given them an official purpose to come back._ Tsunade had caught the four of them at the gate. When she had asked, Kakashi had very simply stated they were going to go determine how the Hidden Grass where responding to the intrusion. Never mind that they were the least appropriate team to make that kind of investigation.

The hokage had seemed surprisingly okay with the violation, only telling them to hurry up and hurry back. For some reason that had made his new wards smile nostalgically and Kakashi had gotten the sinking feeling that he should have been spending more time running and less time in intensive care.

So here he was again, out of breath, standing at the foot of the crater where a man who had once called him rival had ceased growing old. Gai's students had actually raced out here. No one had even said 'go'; they had just started speeding up. Kakashi's polite request for sanity had been generally ignored, and suddenly he was chasing three very fast, giggling children into a foreign nation. Well, at least Tenten was giggling. He supposed that Lee was legitimately laughing in between gasps for air, and he could physically hear the silent chuckle spread across the Hyugga's face.

Kakashi Hatake gazed down into the crater. _How many friends am I going to lose in this goddamn country?_

Lee glanced around the crater and tried to visualize his idol's last moments. Lee found that he simply couldn't. The concept that Might Gai could actually die was so foreign that even now after the fact, it simply did not seem possible. Neji stood somewhat close by, the respectable distance two friends gave each other when they mourned in the same place. Tenten had moved a few meters off, was seemingly looking for something. There black garbs were supposedly to aid in the infiltration. That statement would have fooled anyone until they were told who the team was.

Lee cried at silly things. He cried in the presence of friends, when he saw sunrises, and when he thought of ideals. He had cried whenever Gai-sensei had as well, probably because he could feel the raw emotion come flying off his mentor like solar radiation. He had never felt stupid or embarrassed because of it either. Humans cried. If he was a little more human than most, why should it bother him? Yet at this moment, in the place where his hero had breathed his last, Lee did not feel like crying.

"The legends said it was supposedly unbreakable," whispered Lee with a grin as he turned toward where Tenten had wandered away.

"Remind me to update the legends," Neji whispered back.

Kakashi watched the three silently in crater. The moonlight reflected off the shards of and slivers of a once unbreakable blade, making it look as if the children stood amidst a sea of stars. Kakashi thought of the monument back home, and the name that would be carved on its cold stone face. Just another name to remember. Except here, at this monument, he still seemed more than a name. Here he seemed to have transcended the barrier of stone and earth, and still Might Gai smiled. The crater sparkled in the moonbeams like bleached white teeth, and Kakashi Hatake looked away. _Damn light is making my eye water,_ the shinobi coolly lied. The tears from his covered eye soaked into his canted headband.


End file.
